NO
by SarniePolla
Summary: All Tsubaki has ever wanted was to become a ninja. But whenever she asks her overprotective civilian parents, she is met with a resounding NO. Will she be able to become a true shinobi, capable of killing? One with friends and a team she can trust? Or will her familial ties be the one thing that manages to hold her back?
1. Chapter 1

All Tsubaki has ever wanted was to become a ninja. But whenever she asks her overprotective civilian parents, she's met with a resounding NO. Will she be able to become a true shinobi, capable of killing? One with friends and a team she can trust? Or will her familial ties be the one thing that manages to hold her back?

—

"But why not!?" I cry out, stamping my foot. My sixth birthday was only two days away, and yet my parents still wouldn't let me go to the shinobi academy. I'd been asking since I was first able to speak, and I'd always gotten a NO in return.

"We don't want our daughter to be turned into some mindless, killing machine!" My father yelled. My bottom lip wobbled, and I could feel the tears threatening to pour down my face. I hated it when he yelled, especially when that yell was at me. It always scared me so much. I forced myself to try to act as not-scared as possible. I knew a true shinobi wouldn't feel threatened in the slightest by a civilian, so I couldn't either.

"What if you were killed?" Mom asked me in that voice that always made me feel as if my insides were ripping out. Every time she talked to me like that, all I could think was; Not good enough. Not good enough. Not. Good. Enough.

"Look honey," she continued, and I almost started crying right there. I knew I wouldn't be able to win this fight, just like I wasn't able to win the others.

"We're not doing this because we like to disappoint you, or make you upset. We're doing this because we know this is what's best for you."

There it was. The, "I always know what's best for you, haven't you figured that out yet?" that I always managed to associate with my mother. Everything she said, every little passing thought, was filled with the I know. And it killed me a little more inside each time I heard it. Made me want to choke, and scream, and cry all at once.

"Okay, I'll let it drop," I said, my voice dead and monotone. My parents both started to say something, to try to make me see why they knew this was bad for me, but I had already made my way upstairs to hide in my room.

I closed the door slowly behind me, before locking it. Once I reached my bed, all my control left me, and I crashed onto the comfy surface, feeling the heaving sobs starting to course through my entire body. I was quiet though, so I wouldn't be heard. I couldn't let my parents, the enemy, know I was weak right then, else they would pounce and take advantage of me. I didn't think I would be able to get out of another "comforting" we know talk with my sanity still fully intact.

I stayed up there for at least two hours, wallowing in my misery, feeling all of my dreams for the future slowly melt away, into a depressing little puddle at the recess of my mind. I could smell my mother making supper downstairs, but I couldn't stand the thought of going down there and having to deal with them again. I hadn't even opened the door for my cat, and she was one of the main ways I was able to stay mentally sound in this house.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my parents, or at least I was pretty sure I did. It was just that everything they did, especially my mom, make me feel as though my throat was being eaten from the inside out, and that I was trapped in a room that was slowly losing oxygen, suffocating and dying.

I heard footsteps thundering up the stairs. Mom was probably just walking, but the echo from the empty space made it sound as though she were stomping, and I curled into a ball, thinking back to her earlier anger.

"Dinner's ready, Tsubaki," she said, after knocking on the door. Her voice made my toes curl, and I stayed where I was, minutes after she had gone back down the stairs.

I didn't want to be here any longer. I had considered running away a lot of times, but something always stopped me. It wasn't that I didn't think I wouldn't be able to make it on my own, I knew Konoha took good care of it's orphans. It was because I knew my parents wouldn't be able to make it on their own.

My mother would be heartbroken. I didn't have to try to make myself believe she loved me, because I knew she did. She just was really bad at the whole parenting thing. She would cry for days, weeks even, feeling like she had failed me as a mother. I tried my hardest to not think that she already had.

My father would be upset too, though he would be much better at concealing it. Once the ninja had gotten me back, (it would probably only take them a couple days, and that was because of the paperwork, not the actual work) he would ask me why I had run away. He would ask me over and over, trying to figure out what they had done wrong, and I wouldn't be able to tell them, because it would just upset them more. Then life here would be even worse than it had been when I left.

I decided to think of a less dangerous topic. The academy wasn't in session just yet. I knew this because it started the same day the civilian school did. Even if it didn't, I still would have known what day it started, since I was pretty thorough with anything I was this interested in. It had a couple days before it started, and this gave me time to try and figure out a way to get my parents to let me train to join the shinobi ranks.

I knew I couldn't outright ask them. I had seen just where that would get me today and many other days before as well. No, it had to be someone else asking them to let me, and someone with enough influence that even they would consider letting me join.

Maybe I could get one of their friends to think it was just a phase. Have the friend tell them that if I was signed up for the academy, I would be over it in three weeks, and they would have their obedient little girl back.

Maybe I could get Midori to try and help me. My big sister always was pretty good at getting them to go along with what she wanted. Too bad I hadn't been able to pick up on how she did it. I knew that Midori wouldn't be able to help me though, even if she were willing. My parents were set in their ways, no matter how stupid and annoying it was, and it was going to take something big to get them to change their minds about this.

Not to mention the fact that joining the ninja academy requires a ninja's sponsorship. If I couldn't get someone of at least chunin tank to say that they would recommend me for the academy, then I wouldn't be able to join, even if I did cross over to the twilight zone, and my parents said I could.

That would be first on my list. I was in desperate need of someone to sponsor me for the academy. Someone that agreed to help me buy me training kunai and shuriken, and my other ninja gear. I knew for sure my parents weren't going to by all that stuff for me. By the time they got the supply list, they'd already be trying to get me out of there.

I wasn't quite sure who to ask. I knew a lot of shinobi would laugh at the thought of some almost six-year-old coming up to them and asking them to be their sponsor. They would know immediately I wasn't from a clan. If the fact that I was even asking them for a sponsorship in the first place wasn't enough, then total lack of any sort of ninja abilities would definitely be a good indicator that I wasn't anyone worth their time.

It wasn't like I hadn't tried to get good at some of the basic academy requirements, but with civilian parents who most certainly did not want their daughter near any of that "crap", it was kinda hard to do anything. Sure, I'd meditated a good bit, since I heard that was how you accessed chakra, but I'd only gotten a small brush of something out of my reach after hours of effort.

I'd run a lot of laps, and even managed to do about ten push-ups, but I knew that had to be small compared to what the academy would want you to do. I didn't know any of the kata, so I was going to be worse than bad at taijutsu. And all the other jutsu too, now that I mention it.

I'd gone to the library a lot, looking for books on chakra control and all that jazz, but hadn't been able to find much. All the actually helpful techniques were stuck in the clans' libraries, collecting dust, because those kids already had parents that were actually willing to help them accomplish their life's dreams.

I shoved my face in my pillow, thinking of just how hopeless my situation was right then, but then I thought of something.

This was my first mission. This was a test. A way to see whether I was actually good enough to be a true shinobi, or if I was just another silly wannabe. It was a C, no B, rank mission, and my parents had already paid the money for its completion, so failure wasn't an option.

I knew that I wanted, no needed, this to work. I needed the freedom the academy would give me. I needed to hear and feel the satisfying chunk of metal finally hitting the target that all the academy kids I'd spoken to had told me about. I needed to be able to watch as the chakra I manipulated took shape, and became the jutsu I had worked so hard to learn. I needed to be at the academy. I needed this mission to be a success.

I couldn't fail.


	2. Chapter 2

I got up the next day, jumping out of bed. I went through my morning stretches, feeling all the sleep leave my body. I had had to devise the stretches myself, since I hadn't been able to get access to any of the ones the clan kids did. Mine may not have been as useful as the ones the other kids did, but they were probably at least twice as long, lasting well near an hour.

I always liked to get up early, so I had the house to myself for a while. At first, I had tried to stay up late, but then I realized that it just made dealing with my parents harder than usual, so I quickly changed tactics. No ninja would rely on a practice that didn't work just because they were used to it, so neither could I.

I got dressed, then did my best to make it down the stairs quietly, the same way I did every morning. I had to tiptoe everywhere I went at this time of day, since I knew my mom and dad were both light sleepers.

I quickly grabbed a couple slices of bread (aka half the loaf), then left a note on the door. Went outside early so I could play with some friends at the park, it read. Be back soon-Tsubaki.

I knew they would be mad at me later, and that I would get yelled at, but if my mission was a success, then it was worth it. In the world of shinobi, the mission always came before personal interests. No amount of love, grief, or fear could hold a ninja back.

Trying to keep that in mind, I headed out the door, being sure to grab a key on my way out. It would be just like my mom to get spiteful and lock me out.

Once outside, I looked down at the streets that were already supremely busy. In fact, I had known for a while that Konoha was always more busy in the early morning or late night than it was in the middle of the day. Sure, all the civilians were up and about later, but Konoha was one of the five main ninja villages. As such, ninja were typically seen more often than civilians. And there was still the other forty-five percent of ninja that didn't want to be seen.

I made sure my clothes were the most impressive I owned, and made me look the most like a ninja in training. They weren't pure black, because I knew better. Any ninja worth half their salt would laugh at a full black get up, and think that I was just some loser upstart who didn't know what I was doing. Instead, I wore dark gray pants, a darkish green shirt, and a darker green jacket.

I had made sure when my parents bought the jacket for me that it had lots of pockets. I had counted them in the store, and there were about nineteen. The only reason my mom had let me buy anything that was just so… ninja, was because it had been on the clearance rack, and was the cheapest thing in the store.

I figured it had something to do with the little, dark red swirly circles on it, but I didn't see anything wrong with the jacket. As I said before, I'd gone to the library a lot. Apparently, the circles were the Uzumaki Clan's crest, and that the official chunin/jonin jacket had one on each arm. I felt a little bad wearing them, since I wasn't an Uzumaki or a shinobi, but it was the best I had, and I had to make do.

My combat sandals were another miracle, I reflected while I walked, looking down at my feet every once in a while. My parents hadn't been the ones to buy them for me. In fact, they were an early birthday gift from an aunt I had in the tiny village of Grass, one of the many dotting the maps of the Land of Fire.

She had always fully supported my choice to become a shinobi, being a kunoichi herself. That was probably why my parents had disowned her. It was also definitely why she had made sure to do everything she could to help me become the best ninja I could. Which included getting her genin team a D-Rank mission to secretly bring me my birthday present.

Her team was awesome. I remembered how they had all told me happy birthday, and wished me luck on becoming a kunoichi too. My aunt had already told them all about my parents, and they were completely sympathetic.

It was too bad Aunt Miyu wasn't actually in Konoha, else my academy sponsorship would already have been taken care of. As it was, I was going to have to go around and ask every person wearing a green flak jacket I met if they would sponsor me. Well, not literally, else they would earn the other shinobi to stay away from me. I couldn't have that happening.

I figured it would be best to ask the clans first, since there was more than one shinobi per household there. I'd also heard that a good deal of the smaller clans, like the Nara and the Yamanaka, were really sympathetic to people's plights. I wasn't so sure about the Hyuga or the Uchiha. I didn't need to have anybody telling me that those people were scary, but if it came down to it, and nobody else said yes, then I would ask them.

The more I thought about it, the more I began to realize something. If those two clans found out that I'd already asked every other clan before I asked them, they'd be really insulted. So much so that I actually would need to fear for my life a little. I turned with a big sigh, knowing that I had probably just made myself first on the Shinigami's grab list, before I turned around and started making my way toward the Uchiha Compound.

Why the Uchiha Compound you ask? I'd read up on all four of the noble clans, making sure I knew everything there was to know about them that was open to the public. I'd even gone out of my way to try and learn a few of the less known things. I'd mostly accomplished this by sitting around some of the eateries that were more popular with shinobi, waiting to hear any gossip. A couple of the store owners had chased me away, claiming I was loitering, but the others were either sympathetic, or were too busy laughing at me making a fool of myself to care.

I knew that the Hyuga was the creepier of the two. One of the ninjas I'd listened in on had been so drunk, he didn't know which way was up. He'd been blurting out to everyone that he had watched one of the Hyuga kill another Hyuga that was of the Branch House using the Caged Bird Seal.

Of course, the Konoha Military Police Force, aka the Uchiha, had come and arrested him before he could say anymore, but I'd already heard everything I needed to.

I knew that a lot of the citizens of Konoha, civilian and ninja alike, weren't really trusting the Uchiha Clan right then. They were all blaming them for the Kyuubi attack. Even though I didn't know the reasons behind all this, I knew some of the political impacts this would have on the Noble Clan.

I also knew that if a random civilian child were to come up to the Uchiha of their own initiative and ask if they would sponsor them, then it would show a large level of trust. And if the Uchiha agreed to sponsor said child? They would be seen supporting the village's next generation of shinobi, but not only that. They would be seen supporting a civilian girl, which meant that they weren't prejudiced as to who they believed were capable of being a good ninja.

It would really help to increase their political standing. Not to mention, it would give them a way to indirectly influence civilians and other academy kids to not hate the Uchiha Clan. Sure, if an Uchiha kid were to say some stuff about how the Uchiha hadn't done anything and were protecting the citizens of Konoha as police, then everyone would just believe it was propaganda. But if it were an innocent little civilian girl? Some people may actually take it seriously.

Plus, I knew the Uchiha were a prideful clan. If they sponsored me, then I was almost guaranteed a great education. They wouldn't even let me think of having bad grades if I became a sort of representative for their clan. It was really a win-win situation for both of us.

Nothing in this private pep talk really helped prepare me for the overwhelming fear I felt when I saw the gates to the Uchiha Compound come into sight. I was once again reminded of how these people could incinerate me if I they wanted to, and probably get away with it as well.

I stopped outside, standing a little ways away, trying to gather my wits. I thought of all the nights I had stayed up, trying to feel just a tiny spark of the chakra that I knew lay dormant within me. Of all the early mornings I had spent, stretching all my muscles, trying to get as flexible as I could, so I could dodge incoming attacks. Of all the mid-afternoon workouts, running laps, doing push-ups, and lifting boulders, trying to increase my physical strength and chakra reserves.

I thought about how badly I had wanted to become a ninja. Of all the tears I'd she'd, thinking that I'd never make it. Of all the pains I'd had, having pushed my body too far. Of all the dreams I'd had, of how I'd finally be able to take my life into my own hands.

A ninja wouldn't let a little fear stop them. I wasn't going to let a little fear stop me. I marched up to the gates, feeling confident, and pounded on the doors. There was no answer. I frowned, then knocked even louder, still receiving nothing but silence.

I started to literally punch the door, seeing no sign that anyone was even paying attention to me. I started to kick the confounded gates, coming at them with all the strength little six-year-old me could muster.

I stopped about twenty minutes later, dropping to the ground, exhausted. If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn I heard sighs coming out from behind the door. I convinced myself I hadn't heard anything. I glared at what was clearly and imagined giggle, before stomping off to examine the impenetrable wall before me.

I saw there was no way in besides the gate, unless you were a ninja and could somehow jump over the walls. I huffed, then sat down, leaning against the building behind me, knowing that they would have to come out of their sooner or later.

I stared at the doors to their fortress for almost three hours. By this time, it was around ten 'o'clock, and all the other civilians were already up and about. It had already been four hours since I had gotten up, since it had taken me an hour to get here, and I was painfully aware of how my time was ticking by. I couldn't afford to waste my time on one clan, no matter how much both of us would benefit in the long run.

I walked up to the gates, glaring all the way. My glare intensified as I heard the two guards on the other side stifle laughter. And here I had been under the impression that Uchiha didn't laugh. I would have to change my notes; they did laugh, but at other people's misfortune.

"I hope you regret this!" I hissed angrily. I knew there was no need to raise my voice. These were still ninja, no matter how annoying and stupid.

"And here I'd been hoping you would be able to see the political benefits you would be able to reap from this. However, you decided to turn me away before you even knew what it was I wanted to talk to you about." The laughter increased, and I knew that I was going to make them regret this choice.

"Here I had been thinking that the Uchiha were a clan that actually deserves respect, but apparently, that isn't true. I swear, that I will beat any one of your clan mates that end up in my class this year. Thank you for agreeing to hear about my sponsorship," I finished sarcastically.

I walked away, and all it took was about five minutes to realize what I had really done. I had just insulted the Uchiha, the guys who didn't just control the police. They were the police. Of course, those two idiots on the other side of the door had been laughing, but who knew if the Uchiha Elders would be laughing? What if the Clan Head heard about it? He would feel honorbound to protect his clan!

I groaned, knowing full well this made me a very plausible enemy of the most influential clan in Konoha. Sure, it was more probably I had just become a long-standing joke to those jerks, but I believed fully in worse-case scenarios. That way, I was always prepared.

I actually facepalmed when I realize a second problem about what I had just done. There had to be at least one other witness besides the Uchiha who had seen me telling them off. That meant there was a good chance the other clans would know about "the idiot girl who just yelled at the Uchiha". And I knew that even with their politically weakened state, the Uchiha were still super scary to the other clans, specifically the minor ones all my hopes had been riding on. Hopefully, one of them would find it funny, and keep me around for laughs.

I trudged along, heading towards the next candidate up on my list. The Nara's forest wasn't too far away, since both the Uchiha Compound and the forest the Nara needed to raise their deer were both located on the outskirts of the village. I tried to hurry over, before word of what I'd just done reached them, and knocked on the door as soon as I got there, even though I was completely breathless from what had quickly turned from a jog to a full-on sprint.

I thanked any and all gods that I could think of that someone actually opened the door. I didn't care about the suspicious/lazy look in their eye, since I was too busy being happy about an actually open door.

"Can I help you?" He asked, and I was quickly shook out of my praiseful reverie.

"My name is Tsubaki," I said bowing. I did not wanting to waste time on useless pleasantries, but that didn't give me the excuse to not be polite.

"I was wondering if the Nara Clan would consider sponsoring me for the academy, since my parents are unable to, due to their civilian status." I said. I didn't cross my fingers behind my back, since I knew he would automatically see. Instead, I started a little hopeful chant in my mind.

Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.

"Sounds troublesome," he said, and I forced myself to maintain my composure and not deflate.

"Please sir, I ask only your clan's consideration."

He sighed, and slouched over even more than he already had to begin with. I was reminded once again of how everyone referred to the Nara as "that lazy bunch of geniuses". I knew that they weren't exactly my definition of perfect, but I was too aware of the fact that a beggar couldn't choose to get picky.

"Look kid," he said, and I could sense the upcoming NO, the same was I was able to sense my parents'.

"Our clan's already busy. We've got our heir about to join this year, and that's already troublesome enough. We just can't afford the extra work." Or you're too lazy, I thought bitterly. I didn't show it on my face though.

"Very well," I sighed, knowing that I was going to have to move on to the next clan, "I understand. Thank you for your time. I'm sorry for any disruption I may have caused."

"Hey don't worry about," he said, and his voice was much kinder than it had been before.

"You're a pretty smart kid, I'm sure one of the other clans would be glad to have you. Don't give up hope just yet," he told me, winking.

I smiled up at him, "I certainly don't plan to anytime soon." He smiled down at me before yawning.

"Hey, it was nice meeting you, Tsubaki. Wish ya the best of luck," he said, before closing the gates. I smiled a little at the gate before me, before turning to walk off.

Sure, another clan had just rejected me, but there were plenty others in Konoha to annoy. Plus, a freaking Nara had just called me smart.

Sure, my parents had always told me I was smarter than other kids, but that was just when they didn't want me to do something they considered wrong or dangerous. I had known I picked up on things quicker than other kids, but so did my sister, do I didn't think I was all that special. But hearing a Nar call me smart? They were considered the geniuses of Konoha! Their Clan Head was practically the Hokage's chief advisor!

I had a new bounce in my step as I made my way over to the Akimichi Clan, hope reverberating yet again throughout my entire body. I was cheerful as I walked up to their restaurant door, stepping through to meet the delicious smell of barbecue.

A couple of the customers there glanced at me oddly, wondering what a little kid like me was doing here alone, but none of them decided to actually question me. This was a ninja village after all, there were many other odder things to be concerned about.

"Hello, and welcome to Akimichi Barbecue! My name is Tayuya!" a women that was clearly an Akimichi greeted me. She was definitely on the chubby side, and her spiky orange hair was pulled into a tight bun. Probably to keep it from getting in the food. It was also a bad idea to have long hair in a fight, since that just gave the enemy something else they could grab.

"Hello to you as well, Akimichi-san," I told her, bowing the same way I had with the Nara before.

"Now, there's no need for that!" She exclaimed, looking at me disapprovingly.

"You don't have to be so formal! We treat everyone here like family, so please feel a bit at ease," she told me, and I blushed, embarrassed. I had forgotten one of my most important notes. The Akimichi were most definitely the least traditional of all the clans, preferring to treat everyone they met the same way, until they could form their own opinions of someone.

"My apologies," I told her. "I was just wanting to ask you something."

"Hmm? What's that?" She asked me, smiling.

"Well, I was wondering if your clan was open to sponsoring me for the academy," I told her, trying not to rush the words.

"Oh dear," she said, and I could already feel the disappointment forming in my gut.

"I'm so sorry. I promise you, we would jump at the opportunity, but we already agreed to sponsor three other kids. And that's the limit one clan is allowed."

That was fair, I figured. The ninja world thrived on a first come first serve order. I couldn't fault those other three kids for getting here before me. I had, after all, waited a good long time before attempting to ask anyone. I didn't stop to think about how it was out of fear of rejection.

"It's quite alright," I told her, smiling. "I'm sure there's at least one shinobi out there that would be willing to sponsor me."

"That's the spirit!" She told me, chuckling. "Tell you what," she said, quieting down, and leaning forward. I moved over closer too, sending that she wanted to whisper what it was she was going to say next. I will admit that I was quite eager to hear what she had to say.

"I know for a fact the Yamanaka have only sponsored one kid this year," she whispered in my ear. "If I were to send you over there with a note saying that I recommend they sponsor you, I'm sure that number could quickly rise to two."

I gaped up at her, fully taken aback. I knew that the Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara were close knit, but I had no clue it was that close. Close enough for a single clan member's recommendation to have such weight.

"Really?" I asked her, breathless.

"Well, I'm sure they'd give you a little test before they outright accepted, but it would definitely keep you from being sent away right off." She told me, and I had to stop myself from squealing. She really was going to help me!

"Let me just get a piece of paper and a pen here…" she said, going over to the counter. I watched her every move, not even dating to breathe, lest she take away my chance.

"Alrighty," she told me, having quickly scribbled a note down, and handed me a piece of paper. My hands were actually shaking when I took the little slip of paper, despite my best efforts not to.

"Thank you so, so much," I whispered, still awe struck that she was giving me such a great amount of help.

"No problem," she told me, a happy light in her dark brown eyes. "Just make sure to tell them Akimichi Chiro sent you."

I almost bowed again, but then realized that would make it seem like I hadn't been paying attention to her. I thought for about three seconds that I really shouldn't risk it, then decided what the heck. If Chiro got mad she would be able to get the paper back from me even if I had put it in my safest pocket.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I yelled, running up to hug her. I wasn't all that good with hugs, since my parents didn't do a lot of that kind of stuff, but I figured this was a special exception.

Chiro huffed me back, and I almost sighed in relief. I had been so worried she would be mad at me.

"You're welcome," she chuckled. "Now you better hurry over to the Yamanaka's. You don't want someone else taking your spot, now do you?" I immediately let go of her and ran over to the door, realizing she may very well be right. There could be someone at this very moment knocking on the Yamanaka's gates, the same way I had with the Nara and Uchiha.

I yelled one last "thank you" over my shoulder before bolting out the door and down the street. It was definitely around noon now, and I wouldn't have much time before my parents reported missing, because they were just that paranoid. I would have to run as fast as I could, even though the Yamanaka were a lot closer than any of the other clans.

I sprinted up to the flower shop's, knocking loudly on the door. I was too worried and too tired to be bothered by manners.

"Yes?" a man asked me, opening the door. He had blonde hair, tied up in a ponytail, and his eyes almost looked like they had no pupil, like the Hyugas'.

"I'm sorry sir, I realize that your store is closed today, but I really need to ask you something," I said, panting.

"Well, this sounds rather urgent," he said with a smile, and I couldn't tell if there was sarcasm there or not. I decided not to dwell for too long on it, there were more important things at hand.

"What is it you need?" He asked me, and I reached into one of my coat pockets and pulled out the note Chiro had given me couple minutes before.

"Akimichi Chiro sent me over here. She said that you may be willing to sponsor me for the academy." It told him, holding out he note.

"Is that so?" He asked rhetorically, his mouth quirking up to a half-smile. He read the note quickly, before handing it back to me. I really hoped that didn't mean no.

"Now, I do trust the Akimichi, I really do, but sometimes they're all a bit too kind hearted," he said, and I could see that for the dismissal it was. Unfortunately for Mr. High and Mighty here, I hadn't just run around Konoha for no reason.

"Please, There has to be some sort of test or something I can do! Please!" I knew I was begging, and I also knew I was past the point of caring. He stared at me for a good while, before giving me one slow nod.

"There is one thing. But it's hard." He warned.

"I don't care! Being a ninja is hard! If I can't pass a test to even start training, then I don't deserve to be part of Konoha's main defense force!"

This apparently was the right thing to say, because he was nodding approvingly.

"Come on," he said, motioning for me to follow him with his hand.

"No time like the present," he said, and I readily agreed with him. The present was definitely the best time for me, because I was sure the future wasn't going to be as easy to get to.

"Inoichi-sama! What about Ino?" Another Yamanaka asked him, sticking their head out the door.

"It's fine," he called back, "she knows how to run the store by herself."

I felt my heart freeze, even though I kept my steady pace by my friendly Yamanaka's side. The Yamanaka who just so happened to be the Clan Head. I couldn't stop to wonder what I had gotten myself into, and decided that that was probably a good thing.


	3. Chapter 3

"Could you repeat that please?" I asked Inochi shakily.

"You need to be able to climb this tower before you will receive my sponsorship," he said. It was exactly the same thing he had said before, and I had to tell myself that no, I was not hearing things, and yes, he was fully serious.

I looked up at the Hokage Tower, trying to judge it's full height, then decided it would probably be best if I didn't know. There were plenty of handholds if you knew where to look, and plenty if you didn't. What made the task so daunting was just the sheer size of the place. I didn't think I had the stamina to make it.

"Having second thoughts?" Inoichi asked me smugly. All I could do was shake my head.

"Alright then. I'll be back in an hour. If you haven't made it to the top by then, you'll have failed. Everyone inside already knows not to interfere, so all you need to do is keep climbing." He turned around, and walked inside of the tower. I stood there and watched him go through the door, before finally taking in a long shaky breath.

I almost had nodded my head at him. I had almost given up, but had stopped myself just in the nick of time. I couldn't afford to stop now, just when victory was so close.

I took in deep, relaxing breaths, before moving towards to the side of the tower. I grabbed the windowsill to a classroom on the first floor, and jump up to sit on it. Not so hard, I thought. Just twenty more to go.

I looked up, and saw that the next windowsill was quite a ways off, but there were bricks sticking out the side of the walls, proving easy grips. I was pretty sure that the obvious handholds were deliberate, and wondered briefly if climbing the side of the Hokage's Tower was common practice for ninja trainees. I really hoped not, because I wasn't sure I would ever be able to do this again, if I even made it this time.

I put my foot on one of the bricks, before moving my hand to one above me. Slowly, I began to inch my way up, feeling the strain on my little kid arms. Luckily, I'd never had much of an appetite, so I wasn't that big of a kid. Otherwise, I was pretty sure I'd never have been able to make it even a meter off the ground.

It took me nearly twenty minutes, just to reach the fifth windowsill, and by that time, I was sweating pretty heavily. Sure, I'd been trying to increase my physical limits in the past year, but this was a level my body wasn't used to. And there were still fifteen windowsills to go.

A real ninja would have been able to scale this wall in three seconds flat. A real ninja wouldn't have stopped for a single break. A real ninja wouldn't have to do this in the first place. I growled as I thought about all the stupid factors against me.

If only I hadn't been born a civilian. If only my parents didn't think of blood and death everytime they heard the word shinobi. If only I was a little bit stronger. If only I was a little bit faster. If only…

But I wasn't living in a theoretical world. This was the real world, and I would have to deal with my problems head on, the way any shinobi would. I looked in the window I was currently sitting on, and saw the classroom inside.

The amphitheater desks, the chalkboard at the front of the room, the bookshelves full of ninja knowledge. This and more would all be open to me the minute my foot touched the top of this tower. I just had to make sure that I got there.

I started back on my climb, a new level of determination within me that I hadn't really felt before. Whenever I got tired, I just thought of how a ninja wouldn't stop because of something as stupid as that. Whenever I felt like I wasn't going to make it, I just thought of how a ninja would have kept trying anyway, because failure always meant death.

I felt a shiver of ecstasy run through me as I my fingers touched the top of the building, and I pulled myself over the ledge, ignoring the now numb strain of my muscles. I fell on my back the minute I reached the top, and felt all the air in my body flow out of me in a huge sigh.

I had made it. I had completed my mission, and I sat there waiting for Inoichi. Waiting for the payment I would receive for a job well done. I didn't have to wait long, since apparently he had been up here the entire time.

"Well, well. You did manage to make it up here," he said, "color me impressed."

I wasn't sure whether it was a complement or more sarcasm, but I was too tired to care. I wasn't going to try and read into any ninja's emotions, much less a ninja that was a Clan Head who worked in T&I.

"Did I pass?" I asked him, rolling over onto my belly, before painfully pushing myself into a sitting position.

He rubbed his chin, and for all the world looked like he was debating whether to say yes or no. I knew he was doing it just to torture me, but I couldn't really do anything about it. He was, after all, a master when it came to manipulating emotions.

"Well," he said in a hesitant tone, "you did manage to make it up here, despite my prior thoughts." I waited. He had to be doing this just to make me hang onto his every word. Didn't he know that I already had been?

"It was done within the time limit too…" he said, trailing off. My suspenseful stare was ready to morph into a glare at any time.

"Why do you want to become a shinobi?" He asked me suddenly, and the quick change in topic nearly made me ask "huh?".

I pondered over it for a minute. Why did I want to be a ninja? Why had I subjected myself to the torment of climbing the Hokage's Tower just then? Why had I spent the past year trying to get better? Why was I so obsessed?

Because, it was something my parents didn't want me to do. Because it was forbidden. Because it looked cool. Because it meant one word that I valued above all else.

"Freedom." I told him, and he quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Freedom from what?" He asked, and I could tell he already knew. He wanted me to say it out loud though.

"Freedom from being what everybody wants me to be. Freedom to make my own life choices, and decide things for myself. Freedom to be my own person." I thought briefly, then frowned.

"I know most people want to hear something like 'I want to be a ninja to protect people' or some other bull crap. And good for those precious few who really mean it. I'm not going to lie to you. I want to be a shinobi because I hate the thought of being some useless civilian, forced to rely on others to keep me safe."

"I guess if you're not lying, then I can't lie either," he said.

"Let me congratulate you now on a job well done. I will send in your sponsorship the first chance I get."

I felt myself suck in a lungful of air, but wasn't really aware of having done it. Yes, I had told myself I had passed, but it hadn't really sunk in until now. I had done it. I was going to be a shinobi, and now not even my parents could stop me. Wait…

"Inoichi-san!" I yelled, seeing him about to leave.

"Yes?" He asked, turning around.

"I'm pretty sure you've noticed my parents' absence by now. They really don't want me to become a ninja, and I don't know how to convince them to let me. Do you have any suggestions?"

"It's customary for the student who is going to be sponsored and their family to come over and have dinner with us. I could talk about it tomorrow with them."

"Really? Thank you so much!" He turned to go again, but then I again called him back.

"Yes?" He asked yet again, and I could tell he was somewhat amused by my actions.

"Thank you for this opportunity. I can assure you, I will do my best to not waste it."

He smiled, and it seemed more genuine than the ones I had previously seen. He nodded his head at me, then teleported away, leaving me there alone on the roof. With no way down, I soon realized.

I groaned, thinking of the long climb that would await me. Best to try and see if anyone would help me before starting down.

"HEY!" I yelled down the tower, knowing that any ninja worth their headband would be able to hear me.

"COULD SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME DOWN!?"

A couple seconds later, I was about to shout again when a swirl of leaves appeared behind me. I sagged in relief seeing the familiar flak jacket. Now I wouldn't have to make my own way down.

"You don't have to yell quite so loud," the man told me.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly.

He was very young, and I wondered just how good he had to be to be allowed to train the next generation of shinobi. His hair was tied up in a ponytail in what I was sure was a sort of trend, and he had a long scar across the bridge of his nose.

"My name is Umino Iruka," he told me, and I smiled up at him.

"Yushido Tsubaki. Pleasure to meet you Iruka-san."

"Likewise," he said, returning my smile. He was a very likable fellow, and I decided right then that I wouldn't mind being his friend.

"I'm sorry you didn't pass Inoichi-sama's test. He's rather harsh on people when it comes to things like this," he said. I struggled to hide my shock. Just how many people had climbed up that tower before me? Also:

Umm. Excuse me? What do you mean "didn't pass"?

"But I did pass. Inoichi-san agreed to have dinner with my family and everything."

"Did he now?" Iruka asked, impressed.

Now that's more like it. I deserve some respect after what he just put me through!

"That's great news! That means that I'll be your teacher. It's good to see another kid who's so eager to learn."

"You're gonna be my teacher? Does that mean I should call you Iruka-sensei?"

I had sat back down again. No sense in letting my leg muscles cramp anymore than they had to, now that Inoichi was gone. He chuckled at my question.

"You don't have to until school officially starts, but you can if you want to. Now, you did scream something about needed help down, right?" I felt a blush creeping onto my face, and awkwardly scratched the back of my head.

"Yeah. I already climbed up this place, I don't exactly feel like climbing back down. And unlike fully trained ninja, I can't teleport down or substitute with a pebble or something on the ground."

"I suppose that's true," Iruka said with a laugh. "Just come on over here and I'll get you down. Have to make sure I get you back before your parents start missing you."

"Too late for that," I mumbled, but he had already completed the hand signs, and couldn't ask me what I meant.

"Where are your parents at? I figured they would be here to cheer you on for something as big as this," Iruka said, once we were both back on the ground.

"Well, they don't really approve of the whole 'I wanna be a ninja' thing," I said with a wince. Approved was a bit of a stretch. It was honestly more like condemned.

"Sorry to hear it, though I can see where it would come from." I nodded. My parents fears on at least this life subject weren't all that irrational, but I still didn't want to hear it. I was tired of them always saying no, which was the entire reason I had snuck off to do this in the first place.

"Anyways, good luck, and I'll see you in class Monday," Iruka said with a wave.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei! See you Monday!" I called back cheerfully, before turning to sprint home.

I opened the door to my home, and thought I had gotten lucky. It was empty as far as I could tell, and by the time I had reached the top of the stairs I thought I had fully made it off the hook. It was only about four o'clock, so there was a good chance my family was at the store, or really just out walking around. We took full advantage of the giant park two houses down from our own.

The door to my room was open, and I frowned as I distinctly remembered closing it that morning. I heard a shuffling come from inside, and saw my mom's form show up through the small crack from the door. She had a garbage sack, and was picking up trash that I had left out in my room.

I knocked on the door, not wanting to startle her too much.

"Hey mom, I'm home."

"Tsubaki?" She asked me, "I thought you were still at the park. Your father and sister went to go get you."

That at least explained their absence.

"They must have passed me on their way over," I lied, "I didn't see them though."

"They must not have seen you either. They left about five minutes ago. Speaking of which," she said, turning to face me, "why did you leave to go to the park at five am?"

"I wanted to meet a friend over there. I'd met her a couple days ago, and she said that she showed up there really early so she would be the first one at the monkey bars," I said, the false story quickly pouring out of my mouth. At least I knew I would never have to train in bullcrapping.

"I got there around five thirty, but she wasn't there, so I waited. After about three hours I saw someone show up, but it wasn't her, it was a different kid. Her name was Ino Yamanaka, and we played together today. She was about to leave, but then she told me I could come over to her house, so we did."

'Gosh, I hope she's actually buying this.'

"Her Dad is super awesome!" I exclaimed excitedly, hoping I was better at acting then I felt. "I told him about how I wanted to be a ninja, and he said he would sponsor me, he even invited all of us over to dinner!"

Mom looked real unhappy, and I already knew why.

"I thought we said you weren't going to be a ninja."

"Yea, I know. But I figured it would be pretty rude to turn him down when he was so nice to offer. And besides, the dinner and Ino's friendship walk hand in hand with that."

"Alright, fine," she said sighing. Her entire body seemed to heave with the movement.

"We can just tell Yamanaka-san that you won't be able to join the academy at dinner tomorrow."

"Really? Thanks mom!" I knew that wasn't really what was supposed to be expected, but Inoichi had told me that he would help change their minds about the ninja thing.

"You're going to need more formal clothes than that if you want to actually be presentable," she told me, her mind automatically redirecting to our public appearance. I guess I could understand that. The Clan Heads were all very powerful and influential. You really didn't want to get on their bad side. If you did, you wouldn't be there long, nor would you be in Konoha.

"I've got that dress you got me for Easter Sunday," I offered.

"That'll have to do. I don't see how we could find something for everyone to wear before tomorrow. Your father is going to need to get some new clothes though. His jeans are absolutely disgusting. I don't know why he won't just throw them out yet."

I nodded, going along with every word she said. This was far better than what I had been expecting. Of course, I knew I wasn't completely off the hook, but it was good to know she was distracted.

Midori and dad came home later that evening, since Midori had wanted to play when they got to the park. She had little bits of sand stuck in her hair from where she had been laying in the sandbox, and her brown pigtails were both in crazy knots. She got to take her bath first, and I was soon after her. I put on my favorite pajamas, blue sweatpants and a black long sleeve shirt, and crawled into bed with a contented sigh.

My mom came up to my room later of course, but it was just to get me to tell her every little detail about our dinner invitation tomorrow, but that was about it. I was honestly surprised when she didn't ask anymore questions about how I just randomly happened to meet the daughter of the Yamanaka Clan Head, and get invited over to their house as well. I didn't even get asked about the girl I was 'expecting' to meet at the park at five am.

I went to bed that night around seven, which was about two hours earlier than I usually did. I guess climbing up the Hokage's Tower will take a bit of a toll on your energy. The last thing I remember was yawning and curling into a comfortable little ball underneath the warm covers.

—

"Tsubaki, time to get up," my mom said opening the door.

"Okay, I'm awake," I mumbled, giving the automatic response. The minute she had closed the door, I had the covers back on my body and my eyes closed.

"Don't forget, we need to get your father some clothes before meeting with the Yamanaka tonight."

I flung myself out of bed, feeling every ounce of lethargic energy leave my body the minute she mentioned our meeting. I almost forgot to do my stretches in my hurry to get downstairs.

I couldn't stretch for the full hour I would have preferred to, but I did get a solid twenty minutes in before heading down the stairs.

I had by backpack on my shoulders, and it contained every bit of ninja gear I had ever owned. My jacket, shoes, and wooden kunai (courtesy of Aunt Miyu) were all stored in the sack currently strapped to my back. I tried not to look too excited for today, else my parents would know something was up. But I did look a little more enthusiastic than usual, since no excitement would also clue them in to my plan.

Everyone was already dressed by the time I got downstairs, thanks to my stretches, and I rushed through my morning routine, managing to be done in five minutes. My teeth were brushed, I had deodorant on, and my hair was less messy than usual. My mom still told me to try and make more of an effort with my the mess atop my head later though.

All throughout our entire shopping spree I was anxious. When my dad went into fitting booths, I sat on the stools for people to try on shoes. My legs were constantly bouncing, and my fingers tapped rhythm after rhythm on the seat.

It was nearly lunch by the time dad had found something he decided he liked that my mom deemed okay. We didn't eat a large lunch, since my parents didn't want us to be full when we arrived at the Yamanaka's, but we did have a little snack. It wouldn't be good for people to hear our stomachs growl when food was set out in front of us. According to my mom, it would make people think that she was starving us.

I rolled my eyes the minute her head turned away, but knew it was better not to argue. I just sat there, happily munching on the fries that had come with my four piece chicken nuggets. We all finished quickly, since there was the disturbing atmosphere of rush that always seemed to accompany my mother when she had plans.

We got home, and were all told that we were going to have to get showers. After the showers, we put on our clothes, which mom had been ironing while we bathed. Mom came over, and did her best to try and get mine and Midori's hair to look somewhat decent, but my short dirty blonde locks refused to be anything besides their usual spikey mess.

Mom gave up after ten minutes of tugging the hair out of my scalp, and we all left soon after that. I wasn't really told an exact time to get there, but we all figured four o'clock was considered the universal time for supper.

Dad knocked politely on the door to the Yamanaka flower shop, since the closed sign was once again in place. Inoichi soon came over, opening the door for all of us, smiling.

"Good evening," he greeted respectfully. "Mr. and Mrs. Yushido, I assume?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yamanaka-sama," dad said, bowing. "Thank you for inviting us over to your home."

"Of course," Inoichi said cheerfully. "I couldn't just let something as important as a potential sponsorship go by without a second thought."

"Sponsorship?" mom asked, looking over at me, before nodding. "Of course. All she's ever wanted since she was little was to be a ninja," she said, her voice going up a little. It usually did that whenever she got anxious.

"Why don't you come in?" Inoichi asked, moving out of the doorway. "Supper won't be done for a couple minutes, but I'm sure we can find something to talk about while we wait."

"That sounds wonderful," mom said, stepping through to stand inside the little flower shop. "Thank you again for letting us into your home so graciously, Yamanaka-sama."

Inoichi didn't reply, instead looking over at me once the other three members of my family were through the door. I knew as a member of T&I he would be able to see through any sort of false pretences my family gave him. I just wasn't sure what he would see once he got underneath all the fake.

The flower shop was filled with a cloying fragrance that threatened to overwhelm me as I stepped inside. Luckily, we didn't spend too much time there. Inoichi moved immediately to open a door at the back behind the counter, revealing a hallway.

"It's just this way," he said, standing over to the side. I knew it was just a habit that he wanted to walk behind us, but it still set me on edge.

I didn't have to worry long though. He moved to stand at the front of our group once we were all inside, closing the door behind us. I knew that mom was thinking of a million different ways he would be able to kill us all as we walked down the hallway. I did my best to memorize the different turns we took as we walked. Left, left, right, left, through a door on the left, and then another right.

Inoichi opened another door, and I was about to commit this one to memory as well, before I realized that this was the last stop.

The room inside was rather normal, as living rooms went. There was a couch, a bookshelf, a coffee table, and a bunch of other common household items. A women, whom I assumed was his wife, was sitting on the couch with a young girl I knew for a fact to be Ino Yamanaka. Of course, the long ponytail and purple outfit was pretty telling, but I couldn't deny that it was really her obviously sassy demeanor that got me.

"Well, someone decided to show up early," Inoichi's wife said with a wink. "And I haven't even started making supper yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" mom said, panicking a little. "I didn't realize we had come at a bad time!"

"Relax, you're fine sis," the women said. She had brown hair, tied up in a bun, which made me wonder for a minute if she had been born in the Yamanaka Clan. Once I got a good look at her pupiless irises, I knew that she had been, it was just that her physical appearance didn't reflect her clan's at all. I had also honestly been expecting someone a lot more formal.

"My name's Temaki, by the way."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Temaki-sama," mom said, bowing her head, "My name is Hanari Yushido, and this is my husband, Akiya Yushido."

"Nice to meet you too. And you can go ahead and drop the sama. I get the feeling after the first month we're both going to be sick of it."

"The first month?" dad asked. It was the first time he had actually said anything to them, and I knew he was planning on being quiet throughout this. My dad was pretty charismatic, around the people he liked. But he didn't like ninja, and this was a house full of ninja leaders.

"Tsubaki didn't tell you? She got my husband to sponsor her for the academy!" Temaki sounded kind of proud, and I wondered just how many other kids had asked Inoichi to sponsor them. Probably a lot, since there were a good number of civilian kids wanting to be a ninja.

"No, Tsubaki didn't tell us this," dad answered, glancing at me sideways. That wasn't technically true, I had just forgotten to tell him after I told mom. I got the feeling I would be getting a lot of sideways glances before the evening was over. Probably after too.

"Well, that just gives us something to talk about while I make dinner," Temaki suggested. I was really starting to like her; she was really friendly. My like soon turned instead into worry as I realized that the conversation was actually an interrogation. I sat awkwardly to the side as the Yamanaka Matriarch subtly learned everything there was to know about my parents. At one point their talk turned, and I soon found myself placed with Ino inside her room.

"So you actually passed Dad's stupid test?" Ino asked rhetorically, flopping down on her bed. I remained standing, since I wasn't very comfortable sitting next to someone I didn't know.

"You realize he made that stupid thing super hard just to make sure no one would pass, right? I mean, who would actually want to sponsor a civilian, when everyone knows they can hardly do anything." I nearly frowned at her haughty attitude, but caught myself. I was a guest in their home, and I owed them a great deal for what they had done for me. Besides, she was right. Most civilian children could hardly hold a kunai without cutting themselves or someone else. I probably couldn't either, I thought, disappointed.

"Well, I guess since you did manage to pass it you must be at least sorta good. Nowhere near as good as me or my clan, but you could probably learn a jutsu or two in a few years. That's if Dad decides he really does want to get you in the academy." I had to once again stop a frown from tugging my lips downward. Ino's words had placed a seed of doubt in my mind. Inoichi had told me he would sponsor me. I didn't think at the time that he could have been lying, since there really wasn't any motive to. Apparently, my worry was more evident than I thought, and Ino was soon giggling at me.

"You look like Mom when she's about to read a bad part of her book," she said, her little laughs filling the air. "You shouldn't worry like that. Momma tells me that it gives you gray hair, and all kunoichi have to be really pretty. If you want Dad to like you, then you have to be a good kunoichi."

I pondered over her words, and realized that she was right. I had proven to have the mental drive to the Yamanaka Head, but being a shinobi was more than just being strong. It took skills and tact. He would need to see more than just my physical capacity, and I hadn't done much yet to prove to him my actual worth.

"You're frowning again," Ino chided in a sing-song voice. I gave a short huff of laughter at her words. Despite her self entitled attitude, she was beginning to grow on me a bit. Her haughty attitude was a sort of cover up for what I thought was a great confidence in herself and her clan. She struck me as the type of person who was very assertive, and not at all worried to speak her mind.

"Dinner is ready!" Temaki yelled from the kitchen. Ino's room was on the other side of the house, so they would have to either come over or shout to be able to hear one another.

"We'll be down in a minute Mom!" Ino yelled back at her, before turning back to me with a dangerous smile.

"I like you, and I want you to be in my class." She stated it as if she were ordering me to make sure it happened. "I'm gonna help you win my dad over. He can't resist these charms!" Ino said, pulling off a little pose. I had to admit, she looked absolutely adorable. I about asked her why she wanted to help me, but I figured I would be better off if I didn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked her, and her expression turned as serious as any six year olds could be.

"Here's the plan."

—

Dinner went by slowly, at least for me. I could almost feel the Yamanaka family assessing my every move. I did my best to impress them, though I wasn't sure what they really wanted me to do. I was on my best manners, and made sure to always address them with respect. Ino had helped me look the part, now I had to act it.

Ino has done up my hair the best she could, even though the evil spiky mass atop my head refused to be tamed. I had a little blue ribbon tied into a bow at the back of my head, with a tiny pigtail behind it. She had told me everything she could in the few minutes we had about her plan. It was really simple, and for that I was grateful. I was so nervous I wasn't sure I would be able to remember all the parts of a long process.

She had told me one rule, and one rule only. Follow her lead and do what she told me to. I didn't think anything could go wrong with it, and I was immensely grateful for the help she was offering, so I readily accepted. So far, everything seemed to be working in our favor, and I could feel the big ball of tension sitting in my gut uncoil a little bit.

I helped to clear away plates once everyone had finished their food, and then followed everybody out into the backyard. I immediately took notice of the large forest off to the side of the yard; I was pretty certain that it was the Nara's. That meant that we had traveled farther than I had originally thought through the winding tunnels at the back of the flower shop.

"Well, Tsubaki, you seem like you really want to be a ninja," Inoichi said to me with a calculating gaze. "I assume this means you know the proper technique on how to hold kunai and shuriken, or at least on how to meditate with your chakra."

I could feel the heat crawling up my face as a blush formed. I hadn't had access to anything that wasn't common knowledge, so I couldn't really do anything besides actual physical buildup.

I looked behind him to where Ino was frantically nodding at me. I knew she wanted me to say yes, and I so desperately wanted to as well, but I knew I couldn't. If I did, and he found out, then I was done for. He was the head of a shinobi clan, he wouldn't have much trouble detecting a lie. But there was more to it than that. What if he wanted me to demonstrate what I knew, and I ended up hurting myself? Or worse, someone else?

"I'm afraid I don't sir," I told him, catching the resigned sigh in my throat, preventing its escape. I heard Ino huff, and saw her cross her arms in my peripheral vision. I was really hoping the "honesty is the best policy" thing would come through for me in that moment. I was pretty sure that I had just screwed up big time.

"That okay," Temaki said, going to stand by her husband, "we can just give you a few pointers and a book or two when you leave to help you on a little bit. I knew you've only got two days until school starts, but a little extra practice never hurts." She winked at me once she finished.

I was, of course, majorly confused, but decided to not try and pick apart what she said right then. Instead, I focused on the one thing that had me almost running up to hug her.

"You're going to help me, ma'am?"

She tutted at me, "Oh come now, don't call me ma'am. It makes me feel old."

"Sorry ma- Yamanaka-san."

She rolled her eyes at me good naturedly, and I wondered what it was I had done that had struck her as funny.

"You do want help, right kiddo?"

My eyes widened, "Very much so, ma'am. Er, Yamanaka-san."

"That's good to know. Between you and me, it's only those stubborn boys who don't ask for help when they so obviously need it," she told me, turning over to her husband and giving him a look. Before I could ask what that was all about, I was lead over to a tree.

The entire backyard was a calm little place, but for some reason the atmosphere beside that tree was something else entirely. The wind blew gently through the leaves, giving off a soothing sound. There was a long there as well, filled with brightly colored koi fish, and I smiled as I saw the vibrancy of them all.

"Mom, I don't wanna do this again," Ino complained. Temaki has decided that since I was training Ino could too. I wasn't sure what it was we would be doing, but apparently Ino had done it many times.

"Ino sweetie, this is really important. How are you going to be able to do any cool jutsu if you don't even know how to use your chakra?"

"I'm just going to be that awesome of a shinobi! I won't ever actually need to do this weird sitting sleep crap." Her big blue eyes were shrouded in a glare.

"Fine," Temaki said, her tone suggesting she didn't want to deal with her daughter at the moment. "Go find Dad, I'm sure he'll give you some more pointer on your kunai practice." Ino whooped before running back over to Inoichi, who was currently engaged in a conversation with my family.

"You can go with her as well, if you want," Temaki said, turning towards me. "I'm sure waving sharp pointy things around is more fun than almost falling asleep under a tree."

I had to admit, kunai practiced sounded a lot more enticing than meditation. However, I was able to recognized the truth in her earlier words. You would need to be in touch and in tune with your chakra if you ever wanted to do something other than taijutsu. I had been trying to figure out how to meditate correctly on my own for months now, and hadn't really managed anything. I knew it would take a bit more than a book to tell me how to do it.

"I'd rather stay here with you. Chakra is something I've been struggling with for a while now, and I really could use some help." Temaki broke into a wide grin.

"That's the spirit! Tell you what, I'll tell you a couple tricks, and then we'll prove to those losers that we're way better than they are." I laughed a little, still surprised by the bluntness in her speech.

She went and sat underneath the tree, and after a single second hesitation I joined her.

"So, you said you've tried this before, but it hasn't really been working out too great. What have you been doing so far?"

"Well, I tried to calm down, and then I sort of just tried to find… something." I struggled to find the right words to express what I did when I tried to find my chakra. It was even more difficult to explain that I had thought it would be.

"Whelp, we found your problem," Temaki told me, and I merely blinked in reply. I knew I was doing it wrong, but to have my problem found in under thirty seconds was a bit upsetting. I still wasn't really sure what it was.

"You're not sure what you're looking for." At my obvious confusion, she tried elaborate.

"You need to be able to envision what it is you're looking for. You aren't going to be able to find a carrot in the refrigerator if you don't know what a carrot looks like, right?"

Carrots? What the heck?

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Ummmm, well. Okay, you can't find your chakra if you don't know what your chakra is. You need to be able to feel it, to know what chakra is to you."

Alright, that couldn't be too hard. I still wasn't really sure what chakra really was, and I wasn't sure I ever really would, but if I just had to sense it, then it wouldn't be as impossible as I originally thought.

Slipping into a more comfortable position, I closed my eyes and evened out my breathing. It wasn't too hard to find a sense of calm, given the quiet and serene area around me. But I still couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.

The dark expanse stretched out in front of me, since I had my eyes closed, and my mind began to drift. I thought about what Temaki had said earlier, about the carrots. I stifled a laugh, but then I saw something glow orange out in the distance.

There was a tiny breeze of something as I saw it, but the orange quickly receded back. I reached out, trying to grasp onto it again, to find if what I had just seen was really my chakra, but I couldn't get a hold on it.

Agitated, I tried again, stretching my consciousness further. This time was more than a flash, and I was able to get a look at the warm orange something in front of me. This time, I pressed harder, and was able to get a hold on the stuff in front of me.

The minute I touched it, it expanded, and my eyes flew open as I felt it rush through me. It coursed through my arms, legs, and out to every end of my body. The feeling quickly subsided, but there remained a tiny bit of it under my skin, a testament that it was still there. Temaki was looking at me with a wide grin, and I felt quite proud of my accomplishment.

"That was incredible!" She exclaimed, still smiling at me.

"Are you sure you've never accessed your chakra before? 'Cause that was quite a impressive display. I could actually see your chakra settle around you as it went through the pathways."

"Chakra is visible?" I asked, surprised.

"Not most of the time," Temaki told me.

"Usually, chakra is only able to be seen when people perform Iryo-or medical-ninjutsu. Sometimes, when someone is using a lot of chakra on a jutsu, you can see it hover around them for a minute or two, but then it quickly disperses. Some people are able to make their chakra visible while they meditate, but that's usually only after a few years of practice. And even then, it's usually only the genjutsu types."

"What's a genjutsu type?" I asked her. I knew what genjutsu was in a basic explanation. As far as I knew, genjutsu was a hallucination, only people didn't know it was one.

"People who are skilled in genjutsu are called genjutsu types. They're usually the easiest to recognize, since they're all characterized with a high intelligence level. Genjutsu types are considered the most dangerous of all ninja, since they're able to completely alter someone's reality,

If they're skilled enough."

"Of course," she continued, "just because someone is smart doesn't mean they're a genjutsu type. And just because someone is a genjutsu type doesn't mean they have to specialize in that field. There are plenty of other things that a person can specialize in, like ninjutsu, taijutsu, fuuinjutsu, and medical ninjutsu."

"What is fuuinjutsu?" I asked her. I was already familiar with the others. Ninjutsu has to do with your elemental affinity, taijutsu was physical combat, and she had just explained medical ninjutsu to me.

"Fuuinjutsu is the art of sealing. I know I just said that genjutsu types are considered the strongest, but sealing masters are all at a whole new level. Jiraiya of the Sannin is a seal master, and he's the most powerful of them all."

I was about to ask her more about the Sannin, since I'd never been able to figure out much, but Inoichi and Ino came back over before I could.

"It's getting a bit late," Inoichi said once he was over. "Your parents are wanting to leave now."

I nodded and was about to head over to them when he stopped me.

"Don't worry about the sponsorship, or your acceptance into the academy," he whispered as he crouched down to my eye level. "I've talked to your parents about it, and they don't have a problem with it anymore."

"How?" I asked him, amazed. I knew he said he would take care of it, but it was still surprising.

"It was actually really easy. I just told them that you would get tired of it in a couple days." He leveled his gaze, "You aren't going to do that, are you?"

"Of course not!" I hurried out.

"Good, now go on over to your parents, and-"

"Bye Tsubaki!" Ino yelled, before engulfing me in a hug. I stiffened a little at the contact, since my house wasn't too much of a 'touchy-feely' place, but then forced myself to unwind.

"Bye Ino, I'll see you at school on Monday," I told her, awkwardly patting her back.

"Just to let you know, you were supposed to say no when dad asked if you knew how to hold kunai," she told me with a wink. "He wanted me to trick you."

"I kinda figured he did. There was no way I would get help that easily."

My family and I left soon after that, making our way down the street. The way home was quiet, with my parents talking to each other ahead of me and onee-san. I went to bed early that night too. The mental work of the day leaving me even more exhausted than that of the physical kind the day before.


	4. Chapter 4

Monday came, and I was filled with an odd mixture of excitement and dread as I made my way down the streets of Konoha to the academy. This would be my first day at school, and while I knew we probably wouldn't be doing much, I was absolutely bursting with emotions as I thought of all the things that may happen.

My parents came with me all the way to the doors of the building.

"Do you want us to go in with you?" Mom asked, and I shook my head. I wouldn't want the other children thinking I was one of those kids that needed their parents to go with them everywhere.

I was almost regretting my decision however, as I walked down the giant hallways of the school. It was made even more imposing by their complete lack of anything other than me. Inoichi had given me a letter the day we had dinner that told me which room I would need to register in. It was on the complete other side of the school. I passed several flights of stairs on my way to the main office, most of which had a sign labeled Restricted on them. I had no doubt that they would be the object of many dares in the years to come.

I knocked on the door to office, and was met by a cheerful voice, telling me I could come inside.

"Good morning," I said, bowing to the woman behind the desk.

"Good morning to you too," she said, greeting me with a pleasant smile.

"My name is Kurenui, but you can just call me Sensei. Where are your parents at?" I felt a bit of heat rush to my face as I realize that my mom and dad were supposed to be here to help me get signed up.

"They had some work they needed to get done, and I didn't want to keep them, so I told them it would be okay if they just helped me get here."

"Oh, I see. That's very considerate of you," she gave me a bit of a knowing look.

"Am I correct in assuming that you're Yushido Tsubaki?"

"Yes ma'am."

"I figured you were. Inoichi-san gave me quite the detailed analysis on you in his sponsorship. Said you have a very… determined character. Anywho," she said white a wave of her hand, "let's get you set up for your classes."

I walked out of the room with a much clearer understanding than I had when I first entered. My classroom was room 312, and my teacher was none other than Umino Iruka. I received a small amount of comfort from the fact that I already had met him. He had struck me as a cheery type, and I was hoping that would persist in the six years he would be teaching my class.

Entering room 312, I realized I was the first one to show up. Even Iruka-sensei wasn't there yet. I looked around awkwardly before sitting in the back of the room, in a small corner. The room was just as I has seen when I was climbing the tower, filled with all the general supplies that any school room would have. Only these were directed toward ninjas in training, and focused more on how on effectively block a punch, or dodge a kick.

I sat there for what I felt was forever, but was really only ten minutes, if the clock on the wall was to be trusted. Iruka walked in soon after that, but he didn't seem to notice me, since he busied about his desk, shifting around the multitudes of paperwork. It was another five minutes before he noticed me, and that was only because I accidentally scraped my chair against the floor.

"Ah! Uh, good morning?" He said weakly.

"Good morning sensei," I replied evenly.

"You haven't been there for too long, have you?"

"Just fifteen or so minutes."

"I see. Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait some more, since everyone else will probably show up in about a quarter hour."

I gave a little shrug at his words, and went back to my silence. I figured I may as well utilize my time as I wait, so I tried meditation again. I could still feel the current of chakra beneath my skin, but I hadn't had much luck trying to access it since that day at the Yamanaka's. It just wouldn't show up again, and I felt like I was back at square one.

Seeing as it would only work if I blocked out the outside world, I didn't notice when the first few kids came in. After I had given up and opened my eyes, I saw that at least six other students had entered the room. None of them seemed to have noticed me though.

As the minutes ticked by, and more kids trickled in, I smiled. Not a single person had so much as looked back, and the only reason Iruka had seen me was because of a blunder I made. It was like a game of hide and seek, and so far, I was winning. It made me wonder for a minute if I was really that generic, that easy to overlook, like I wouldn't become anything, but I shoved the thought aside.

Suddenly, the door was thrown open, and was nearly decapitated from its hinges. Everyone turned to see what the commotion was, and my eyes grew to twice their size as I took in the neon form before me.

The boy had ragged blonde hair and blue eyes, much like my own. He stood with a cheeky grin on his face, and I knew immediately that he had opened the door like that just so he would be the center of attention. I doubted he really needed to though, given the orange monstrosity he was wearing a the moment. A pair of goggles crowned his head, completing his rather insane look.

"Hey guys! My name's Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm gonna be the next Hokage! Believe it!"

He was met by howling laughter from almost everyone in the room. I remained silent, my brain still trying to catch up with what had just happened. Did he really just stay he was going to be the Hokage? That was a big goal.

"Yea right dork!" one boy called out.

"Lord Hokage it's an honor." another one said sarcastically.

"What's with the orange jumpsuit?" one girl, whom I thought was particularly slow, asked.

The boy's face turned a bright red as the insults poured out of the children's mouths. I winced as I heard a particularly vicious one. Forget kids being innocent little angels. They could be the meanest people out there, only because they didn't know the full extent of their words. And to think the first day hadn't even officially begun.

"Very good to know Naruto," Iruka-sensei sighed from the front of the room.

"Now would you please take a seat? There's an empty one right next to Tsubaki-chan."

I froze as I heard my name, and the boy, Naruto, searched about the room wildly, trying to pinpoint who our teacher was talking about. I still had yet to be noticed by the entire class, so I gave out a polite cough. When his gaze swiveled over to me, I flicked my wrist in a sort of tiny wave. He adopted the same grin I had previously seen on his face, and plopped into the seat beside me.

"Hi! My name's Uzumaki Naruto!" He said excitedly. I smiled a little back at him.

"My name is Yushido Tsubaki. It's nice to meet you Naruto-kun."

His face lit up as he heard the honorific attached to his name.

"Ne, Tsubaki-chan, what clan are you from? The lady in that office place said that there was a lot of kids from clans here!"

I was kinda proud that he thought I was from a clan. Of course, that probably wasn't saying much, since he didn't seem to be the brightest bulb, but it still felt good to hear. Sadly, it wasn't true.

"My parents are civilians," I told him. "I got my sponsorship to the academy from Yamanaka Inoichi."

"Hey, that's so cool! I'm an orphan, so I don't know who my parents were. I'm pretty sure they were civilians too though." His good mood was apparently contagious, since I found myself smiling in response to almost everything he said.

"Well, we can just help each other out," I said.

"Yea! We'll be better than all those clan kids! We'll rise to the top of the class in no time!"

He held his hand out for a fist bump, and I didn't even feel all that awkward when I returned it.

"Hey Tsubaki!"

I turned to see that Ino had entered the classroom, and was currently standing in the doorway, though not in the same grandiose manner as Naruto.

"Hi Ino, good to see you."

"Alright, I'm gonna get straight to it," she said, leaning onto my desk. My eyebrows furrowed at her business-like manner.

"I need a rival," she announce, "someone who will make me want to do my best, because they'll always be right behind me. I'm going to find out who that is today, but I have a pretty good feeling I already know who it's going to be." She looked pointedly at me.

"I'll be over here, thinking of new ways to be better than you, my soon-to-be rival!" She said, walking off with a flick of her wrist over her back.

"Huh? Tsubaki-chan, do you know who that was?" Naruto asked, majorly confused. I couldn't help but share the emotion. Where had Ino gotten that idea from? I was just a civilian kid, hardly worthy of being considered an equal foe against her. Plus, why did she need a rival? I had thought we were going to be friends.

"That was Yamanaka Ino. She's the daughter of the man that sponsored me. She's really friendly, at least I think so, but I'd be careful about getting on her bad side. Her father is a Clan Head after all."

"Uh, ok. What's a rival?"

"A person you compete with. Someone who seems to always make you try harder, because you always think that if you let your guard down, they'll swoop in and take your spot."

"Soo… like friends?" He asked. I pondered over that for a minute.

"I guess it is a little like that. But rivals don't see it as friendly competition. For them, it's more like a fight over who's better."

Naruto's nose crinkled, "I'd rather have a friend than a rival. I already know I'd be the best, so I wouldn't really have to fight over it."

I giggled at his words, and he leaned toward me, confused.

"Ne, Tsubaki-chan, what's funny? What'd I do?"

I shook my head and was about to answer when Iruka-sensei stood up from behind his desk.

"Good morning everyone! Welcome to your first day at the academy. My name is Iruka-sensei, but you can just call me sensei if you want. I figured we might as well start out with introductions. But" he paused, "I decided it could also be a game."

The level of interest in the room spiked the minute the word 'game' was mentioned. Naruto was the leading factor, his anticipation nearly overwhelming me, since I was right beside him.

"We're going to need some toilet paper," Sensei said, grappling a roll of TP from his desk that had originally escaped everyone's notice. I too was curious to see how a game could be made with something as odd as toilet paper.

"I'm going to pass this around," he told us, "and you can take as many squares as you want. Just make sure you leave enough for the rest of the class."

The TP was passed around, and each kid took about three pieces each. There were a few daredevils who got more, and some others who only took one. The pattern was completely disregarded by Naruto, who promptly grabbed half the role. I saw Iruka shake his head in the corner of my eye. Oddly enough, I thought I noticed a glare as well, but it was concealed so quickly I thought it may have been my imagination.

I got two squares, setting them out on the desk in front of me.

"Everybody has some?" Iruka asked us, glancing about the room. "Good."

"Now, we'll start at the front with Kiba and make our way around. For each square, you'll say one thing about yourself."

As the other kids went, I thought about what I would say. I didn't want it to be something useless, like my favorite color or something. I wanted it to be something meaningful, like what I wanted to do as a ninja, how I wanted to spend my life.

Naruto, instead of being overwhelmed by the sheer amount he had, was just smiling along, ticking off one after another as he went down the line. He seemed to have everything figured out, and I frowned as I realized I was having trouble with just two.

It was nearing the end of the line, and as I Naruto got up, I hurried to put my scrambled thoughts together into some sort of order. Naruto was absolutely rushing through his, doing five in a second, and before I knew it, it was my turn.

I stood up, feeling a rush of fear as the eyes of every person in the room settled on me.

"My name is Yushido Tsubaki," I announced, my fingers twisting the edges of my shirt nervously. I hadn't thought of what I was going to say, and I stood there awkwardly for a minute. I felt like that little girl who had introduced herself as Hinata, too timid to do anything other than stutter and quickly sit back down. I had to think of something quick, but I wasn't sure what.

"I want to be a good shinobi, and make at least chunin rank. My parents are civilians, and I was sponsored by Yamanaka Inoichi for the academy." That was ok, right? I'd said two things, and they were both about me. That should be enough.

I quickly sat back down, ready to move on to the next activity. Naruto gave me two big thumbs ups before Iruka started speaking again.

"Good to meet all of you! I'm sure we'll all have a great time learning together, and that you all will pass with flying colors." I highly doubted that, seeing as how only about nine genin actually graduated each year.

"The next part of our day will be a quick paper assessment to see how much you know. Don't worry, it's not for an actual grade. We just want to see where you are when you start."

That was fair, I conceded. I was a bit scared about it though, since I knew I would be near the end of the list.

"The outside assessment will be after lunch. Out there we'll see your technique with your kunai, shuriken, and chakra, as well as your physical capability," Sensei continued. There I knew I was probably going to be last. It didn't stop me from wishing that it weren't so.

Sensei set about passing out the papers, weaving in between the desks to get to every seat. I was the last to receive mine, since I was sitting in the back of the room. I flipped it over to the front the minute I got it, pulling out one of the two pencils I had brought with me that morning.

It really wasn't anywhere near as hard as I had thought it was going to be. It was really just a bunch of common sense questions. One of them actually asked what three plus nine was.

I finished the test within ten minutes, and that was just because of the sheer size of the packet. Naruto was close to finishing the packet as well, and grinned when he saw me looking over at him. I wasn't sure how much time we had to complete the assessment, but I figured it would probably be a long time before we did something else. Sensei had said that we would go straight to lunch when we were done after all.

Naruto's hand shot up the minute he finished writing, and Iruka's face twitched as he saw it. Again, I was confused by our teacher's annoyance with the boy, since he never really did anything too bad.

"Sensei, me and Tsubaki-chan finished early, and we really need to use the bathroom. Can we go?"

I hid my shock at Naruto's blatant lie, but otherwise didn't say anything. I didn't want to get into trouble on my first day, but I didn't want Naruto to either. I figured he just didn't want to go to the restroom alone.

"Fine, just try to be back in a couple minutes," Iruka sighed.

"Thanks Sensei! Come on Tsubaki!"

We both got out of our chairs, and Naruto raced over to the door before me so he could hold it open. I smiled at him in thanks and made my way into the hallway, Naruto following right behind me.

"You're really smart Tsubaki-chan! You finished that test before I did, and I learned all that stuff last year." He told me, a grin spread out across his face.

"You learned this last year? I thought you were the same age as me? Did you fail?" I asked him. I couldn't think of any other explanation as to how he could have learned the stuff, since he told me he was an orphan.

"Yea, I kinda did," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "but that just means I've got a head start on everyone here! Jiji helped get me signed up a year early, so I'm totally gonna be the best!"

We were walking randomly down the hallway, and there wasn't anyone else but is out of class. There were blank boards on the sides of the walls that would soon be filled with different papers by teachers. When I had thought of the academy, I had imagined it as a sort of military camp, not a normal classroom that taught you basic kindergarten skills along with shinobi skills. It was a bit of a relief.

"I didn't know you had a grandfather. Does he help you with your homework?" I asked.

"The old man isn't really my grandpa, but he may as well be. Sometimes he'll help, but he usually doesn't have enough time. He has actual mountains of paperwork he needs to get done." I giggled as I thought I of an old man writing out paper after paper.

"Do you know how to hold kunai and everything too?"

"You bet! Jiji got me my first set of ninja gear, and he even taught me how to hold them. Iruka-senei taught me how to throw them last year."

"That's really cool," I told him, and I meant it. Being a year ahead of everyone else would be a huge advantage, and I wondered just how far ahead Naruto was compared to all of us.

"Do you think you could help me?" I asked him nervously. "I've never really done this before, and I really don't want to be dead last on the outdoor assessment."

"Of course!" His big blue eyes were shining. "I can teach you right now if you want! Or maybe during lunch and recess, since Sensei will know somethings up if we stay out here too long."

"I'm pretty sure he already knows we aren't really going to the bathroom," I told him, my mouth quirking up in one corner.

"Ne, Tsubaki-chan, whattya mean? I did that perfectly! There's no way Sensei could've known!"

"Naruto, you may be a year ahead of everyone else, but you really need to work on your lying. Everyone knew we were just going outside to talk."

"Really!?"

—

"Alrighty! I want you to pass your papers in even if you haven't finished them yet. People at the end, I need you to make sure that everyone's names are on their paper, then we can all go to lunch."

Everyone shuffled their papers over to the people at the end of their row, eager to get out of the room they had been sitting in for two hours. I nearly shoved my paper in Naruto's face in my hurry to get out of the class. I had thought the test was going to take a while, but two hours was just too much for me to handle. Naruto had had to take four more "bathroom breaks" just to survive the boredom.

All the children filed out the door in a hurry, nearly running down the halls to get to the playground outside. Iruka walked through the middle of the swarm, trying to bring some sort of order to the hyper kids.

At first I tried to walk down the hall normally, but then Naruto grabbed my arm, and we ran to the front of the hoard. I laughed as we raced out into the open air, my lunchbox in hand. Naruto immediately led us over to where the practice targets were. I was momentarily surprised that he had remembered to help me.

"Alright Tsubaki-chan! Here's how you hold it," he said, pulling one of his kunai out and demonstrating for me. They weren't the fake wooden ones that Aunt Miyu had given me, but real metal kunai, albeit blunted.

"Alright," I said, taking the kunai he had proffered, and trying to copy the way he was holding his. My hand closed around the pommel, and it felt comfortable in my grasp, instead of the awkward position I was expecting.

"Great! Now here's how you throw it." He wasn't really telling me how to position it, but that was ok, since I learned best by demonstration. I watched the flick of his wrist as he released the weapon at a straight ninety degree angle, and heard the solid thunk as the kunai struck the middle ring on the target.

My brows crinkled as I attempted to copy his movements. I swung my arm out, and threw the kunai in what I thought was a straight line. The weapon flew right past the target, and I frowned at the failure.

"Hey, that was really good for a first time!" Naruto told me. "It took me three hours to get even that close when I first tried." I smiled over at him, thankful for his attempt to cheer me up.

I went and picked up the kunai, then got into position again. The process repeated itself all through lunch, and I switched to shuriken when recess 'officially' started. Before I knew it, Iruka was calling us all over to start the next part of our day.

"Alright guys, you remember the physical test I said I would be giving you? That's going to start now. And it's probably a lot simpler than you're thinking. I'm not going to measure how strong your punches are anything silly like that. Instead," everyone shuffled a little closer, "you all are going to run around that track until you drop."

Everyone groaned while Sensei smiled at us, but I wasn't too upset. I'd done that quite a few times over the past year, since I knew that endurance was one of the few things I could actually work on being good at. We were all led over to the track, and the lanes were shared between two people, since we were small enough to do that. Iruka blew a whistle, and we all took off.

Some kids broke into a sprint right off, while others, mostly the civilians, though I did notice one or two clan kids, just bounced on their feet as they walked. I took off at a pace that was somewhere in between. I knew that the purpose of the test was to see how far you could go, but I also knew that they didn't want some half effort. So I went around and around the track, keeping up a light jog the entire time.

I was on my ninth lap when the first kid fell over. Of course, the chubby clan kid had stopped after about the first three, and another one with spiky hair, whom I assumed was a Nara, walked off with him, but that was because they just refused to do anymore. The girl was named Chihiro, and she was a civilian, if I recalled her introduction correctly. She had fallen flat on her belly, and was breathing in great big gulps.

Nobody came over to help her up or get her out of the way, and I glanced down in sympathy at her crumpled form. Another kid dropped down a couple laps later, and then another. Soon it was just me, Naruto, and the clan kids.

Naruto was somehow at the very front. He looked like he was going so far as to even race an Inuzuka. And the thing was, he was winning. He kept yelling out jibe after jibe, and the boy and his wolf pup couldn't do anything but keep falling farther and farther behind. It was almost as if my new hyperactive friend had an unlimited amount of stamina.

I was almost gasping when the first clan kid fell over. It was Hinata, the shy little girl who had stuttered over her introduction. Her face was red and she was clutching her side as she sat there on the track, somehow forcing herself into a sitting position. I gave her a small nod as I passed her, but she was too out of breath to respond.

Ino fell soon after, her face an even deeper red than the Hyuga's. I couldn't see her very well since I was on the opposite side of the track, but I was pretty sure she was glaring. I couldn't see why though, since she had already done so good. She just didn't pace herself as much as she should have.

All to soon, my legs began to tremble, and I could feel myself start to fall. My pace hadn't ever slowed, but my insides were burning, and my pent up energy from the test had all leaked away a long time ago. I was about to fall to my knees when Naruto ran up behind me. I wasn't sure what lap he was on, I had stopped counting his once I got near twenty nine.

"You got this Tsubaki-chan! We're gonna be the best, remember? You can't give up now!" He gave me a thumbs up before racing ahead, making sure of his lead on the little Inuzuka boy. I shook my head at his antics, but kept going. His words seemed to have instilled some sort of energy in me, and I found that I was able to keep going.

But not for long, I had only gone two more laps when I felt the awful weight of exhaustion settle on me once more. And with it came paranoia. I could feel all the other kid's eyes on me, staring at me, waiting for me to fail. Waiting for me to fall over and be just another stupid civilian kid who had had the audacity to think that they were good enough to be a ninja.

I growled as I thought of all the stupid, mean things things that I knew they were thinking. I knew they were just waiting for me to fall, to prove that I was the silly prey the predators had all thought I was. My eyes narrowed, and the strange energy I had coursing through me expanded as I felt conviction run through me.

I wasn't going to prove them right. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of watching me fail. New strength flowed through me, and I picked up my pace easily. Soon I had caught up to the other kids still on the course, even going so far as to pass a couple of them.

I went on for another half hour, and I could feel the angry energy swirling around me, keeping me from stopping. There were only four of us left now. Naruto, the Inuzuka boy, a raven haired kid, and myself.

At first I had disregarded the black haired boy, but quickly realized my mistake as he easily overtook the Inuzuka boy. He had just been holding out the entire time, waiting for all the others to grow tired, then come out on top. But he still couldn't catch up to Naruto.

Naruto was just really something else. He was laughing as he went lap after lap, never stopping, not even faltering in his rhythm. He passed me on more than one occasion, and each time he did we gave each other a quick high five.

I wasn't really sure why I hadn't dropped out yet, but I wasn't complaining. I watched the others run around and around in circles, my resolve never once wavering. I knew that it was a competition now, a fight to see who would be the first to give out, and I wasn't going to give up easily.

I wasn't sure how many laps we had gone before the Inuzuka boy fell over. He just flopped down, his entire body shuddering as he struggled to breathe. I didn't even spare him a glance as I passed him. I just kept going, falling into the steady pace I had started, feeling content and safe in the pattern.

Naruto and the black haired boy were ahead of me, and I knew it would take a miracle for me to make my way up to them. I could feel my entire body clenching as I continued to make my way around the track. I ground my teeth together, and tried to keep going. Naruto seemed to have noticed my diminishing energy, and fell back, looking at me with worry. I gave him a feeble smile, but it soon fell.

It took me a couple seconds before I realized he had linked his arm with mine, and that we were running in step together. He was practically dragging me along by then, but we were still keeping the same pace that I had managed before. We continued on, and at one point I think my entire body was leaning against his.

I collapsed. I just couldn't keep going. I fell over, curling into a fetal position on the ground, shivering and whimpering quietly. I felt more than saw Naruto fall to the ground beside me, and I forced my eyes open to see why. He flashed me a brief smile, and I let out a strangled laugh.

The black haired boy managed five more laps before he too collapsed.

"Good job everyone," Sensei called out.

"You all know this isn't for a grade, but I'm pretty sure you want to know how many laps you ran anyway. I've got a list if you want me to tell you," he invited. "but you have to promise that you won't lord anything over anyone else."

The children that had all dropped out earlier met him with a semi-loud reply, while those of us who had pushed ourselves to our limits, and quite possibly over, merely lay there where we had first fallen on the track.

Sensei started listing out the numbers. I wasn't even surprised that the two kids with the lowest numbers were a Nara and an Akimichi. I was surprised when the person who had come in third was called out. It was the black haired boy, Sasuke Uchiha, who had come in third. Apparently he'd lost quite a few laps to me and Naruto when he'd been saving his energy in the beginning. He'd managed to get sixty two laps.

I came in second place, having completed seventy one laps around the track. I was too dead to do anything except lay there, though Naruto made up for both of us as his name was announced in the first place slot. He had run around the accursed track a hundred times.

I watched him bounce up and down as he shouted, wondering just how the tiny boy had achieved such a lofty thing, and then given up on purpose. He knelt down beside me, and before my tired body could do anything, I was being dragged to my feet.

"Come on Tsubaki-chan! We gotta show off how awesome we are some more!"

Iruka and the class had already made their way over to the practice targets that Naruto and I had used during lunch. I made my way over, feeling like I was walking through mud the entire time. Naruto had to actually keep my arm over his shoulders just to keep me upright. Thankfully, he didn't seem to care.

"Ok, now that we've gotten a good measure of your endurance, we need to see how your aim looks," Iruka announced. I had plopped onto the ground, and was looking up at him wearily as he spoke.

"If you don't know how to hold a kunai or shuriken, then please let me know, so that no one ends up hurt. And if you don't let me know, I'll be able to tell anyway, so it's in your best interest to just tell me in the beginning, okay?" His cheerful tone didn't sound threatening, but his body language was saying something else entirely. I wasn't sure what the consequences of lying would be, but I couldn't bring myself to care in that moment. I would be fine anyways, since Naruto had given me a quick lesson during lunch/recess.

I felt an odd sensation between my shoulder blades, and turned to see Sasuke glaring at my back. I glared back at him, thinking of how stupid Uchiha were. They were too self entitled and arrogant to think of anything as lowly as common courtesy. And here I had been thinking it was just the two guards at the gate that were like that.

Iruka was calling us up one by one to the targets, and I redirected my attention to the people currently holding the sharp pointy things that would most certainly hurt if they came my way. I could still feel his glare, but was able to ignore it better when I was focusing on something else.

We were being called up in alphabetical order, so Sasuke went before me and Naruto. I had to force my jaw to not drop as he made near-perfect bulls eyes with each throw. He walked back over to his original spot when he was done, a smirk settled upon his face. If that smirk weren't coming from a jerk and being directed at me and my friend I would have been tempted to call it cute, but as it was I was merely annoyed.

Naruto went up, and I cheered for him as best I could. I was normally a quiet and reserved person, but that kid had done a lot for me, and I wanted to stand up for him as best I could. He didn't do as good as Sasuke, but he was still higher up on the list. He walked back with a proud grin on his face. He paused to glare over at Sasuke, before the expression was plastered back onto his face, and he sat down beside me. I was called up after Ino, and I felt butterflies make their way into my chest for what felt like the umpteenth time that day.

I stepped up to the black square on the ground, staying in the middle of it. Iruka handed me a shuriken first, and I had to think a minute before my hand found the right way to grip it. I tried to even out my shuddering breathing to no avail, before taking up the stance Naruto had taught me. Holding my arm off to the side, I brought it around, letting the shuriken slip out from between my fingers.

It didn't fly right past the target, and for that I was grateful. It had landed on the third ring, and I smiled at the tiny success. I hadn't been able to put much speed behind my throw, since my body was still recovering from my run, but it stuck nonetheless. All in all, it was much better than what I had been expecting. And then I was handed another one.

I kept repeating the process, all but two of the projectiles sticking to the target. Two shuriken and one kunai we're sticking out of the target by the time I was done. One of the shuriken was barely in the second ring, but there nonetheless, and I was proud to not be at the bottom of the list here. I wasn't as good as the clan kids, but I'd managed to trump over all the civilian children, which was the best I could have hoped for.

Naruto and I first bumped when our names were called out by Iruka, him in fifth place and me in ninth. Most of the civilian children hadn't even participated, and of the three that tried, two had no clue what they were doing, and were immediately sent inside by Iruka-sensei.

"All your scores are really impressive," he told us, smiling at everyone, and yet I could feel him pointedly not looking in mine, or more specifically Naruto's, direction.

"You all should be really proud. You've proven to me that you have the ability to be great shinobi, and some of you are already a bit above your peers in skill. There's only one last thing we need to see before I can send you all home. I need to see how good you are at meditating and reaching your chakra. Then we'll all go back inside, get our stuff, and everyone can go home." My body sagged as I let out a huge sigh of relief. It was almost over.

We were led over to a small section of forest at the edge of the playground/training ground. I didn't question why it was there, since there were many other forests just like scattered throughout other training grounds in the village. I'd heard of one that was a full lake, and another that was actually nicknamed the Forest of Death.

"You all should already know what to do," Sensei told us as we all settled into a comfortable position. "If you don't, don't fret, you'll know how to by the end of the year," hopefully, I added silently in my head.

I slowed my breathing, trying my best to act like I was going to sleep, which didn't take a lot of work. My run had really taken everything I had, and I was struggling not to actually get lost in dreams. I shook my head to get myself out of the reverie, before I settled back into my original position.

I really didn't want to put much effort into it this time, I really just wanted to go home and die on top of my bed. I focused on my mindscape, trying to find my chakra and be done with this as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the mysterious annoying crap didn't want to show up, and I was stuck looking at a bunch of black.

Why wouldn't this stuff just work? It never really did anything when I actually needed it to, and I was really starting to get mad at it, and myself. I saw a brief flicker of orange before it darted back out of view, and I wanted to hit something. It shows up for two seconds, and then just leaves?

Nuh uh, no way am I gonna let you do that.

I breathed in a big, deep breath, and then reached out into the black, forcing the chakra to show itself. I struck out farther and farther, searching for the elusive color.

It seemed that the harder I tried to reach it, the farther it tried to get away from me. I could feel the flow receding, and I scowled as it tried to get away from me. It would have to hit a wall eventually, and when it did, I would be there to grab it.

But that wall never appeared. I kept going on, and so did the chakra, like it was just taunting me with its existence. I was just about to give up when I felt the chakra reach out and engulf me.

My eyes flew open as I gasped out in surprise. Everything looked like it was in HD colors, and my every sense had been kicked up a couple of hyperactive notches. It was too much to handle at once, and I quickly screwed my eyes shut again, waiting for the world to go back to normal. I curled up a little as I waited for my head to stop spinning.

"Ok," I heard Sensei breath out, "looks like we're out of time. Let's all head back inside, and then we can get ready to go." I noticed that he didn't read off a list as to who was able to access their chakra, and I didn't have to ask why. No one had succeeded.

I cautiously opened my eyes to a normal world, one that wasn't filled with neon colors in every direction, and uncurled myself form the hunched form I had acquired. Naruto was immediately by my side, and he and I walked back inside together.

I sagged down into my seat the minute we were back in the classroom. The bell rang to dismiss everyone, and I headed outside while everyone else got their stuff together. I gave a quick goodbye to Iruka-sensei, who oddly enough didn't return it, and then I was on my way outside. My mom was at work, and my dad was sleeping since he worked night shift, so I was going to be walking home by myself.

I had just stepped out the door when I accidentally ran into someone.

"Sorry!" I hurriedly apologized.

"It's quite alright," the boy said. Something about his black hair seemed familiar, and then it hit me.

"You're Sasuke Uchiha's brother," I stated, and it came across as an almost accusation.

"That I am," he agreed, and I got the sense he was amused. "I suppose my foolish little brother has already managed to leave an impression of himself?"

"You could say that. I don't think he likes me all that much," I informed him. I didn't want to deal with Sasuke's attitude all year, and I figured his family would be the people to go to about it, so I felt absolutely no guilt from my snitch.

"And why's that?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"Because I beat him during our endurance assessment. I caught him glaring at me earlier, and found it a bit annoying."

"That sounds about right," the boy agreed, "Sasuke hates to lose at anything. He's a very competitive spirit." I nodded in agreement with him.

"My name is Yushido Tsubaki, by the way. Just in case you ever need me to do anything for you," I told him. I still wasn't over my whole 'crusade' against the Uchiha Clan, but this kid seemed like a nice guy, and I didn't want to hate him.

"Pleasure to meet you Tsubaki-chan. My name is Uchiha Itachi, and you can call upon me for a favor at any given time. I'm usually quite busy with work though, so it may be awhile before I'm able to respond."

"I'll be sure to remember, thank you." At that moment Sasuke walked out, his entire face seeming to light up when he saw his brother.

"Nii-san! I thought you were going to be on another mission today."

"I was hardly going to miss the chance to pick up my otouto on his first day of school," Itachi replied to him, lightly poking him on the head. I shook my head at the two brothers' antics, then turned to begin my walk home. I had only gone about ten steps when Naruto suddenly appeared on my right.

"Hiya Tsubaki-chan! Do you wanna go get ramen with me? I know this super awesome place called Ichiraku's. Old man Teuchi makes the best ramen in the entire world! His daughter Ayame is super nice too, and I'm sure you'd like it. Will you come, pretty please?"

I had been planning on telling him that I needed to get home, which was true, because my parents would be wanting to know what we'd done. That, and I felt like I was going to drop dead any second. Then he'd turned the puppy eyes on me, and I felt my resolve crumble away.

"Alright, one bowl, and then I have to get home," I told him.

"Yes!" Naruto jumped up and down, "It's the best ever, I promise!"

—

Naruto hadn't lied, this was the best ramen I had ever tasted. I slurped up another mouthful of the noodles, reveling in the absolute good of their taste.

"So how was your first day at school Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked the boy.

"It was awesome! I did way better than anyone else their, except for Tsubaki-chan and this Teme named Sasuke."

"Good to hear," she said, laughing.

"It's reassuring to know that our future Hokage is top of his class."

"So your name's Tsubaki, huh?" She said, turning to me while Naruto continued to vacuum up his noodles, "Nice to meet you."

I swallowed the rest of the noodles in my mouth before answering, "Likewise."

"I take it you like ramen too?"

"I'm now officially in love."

Ayame laughed as an older man, whom I assumed was her father Teuchi, came out of the back of the shop. His smile widened when his eyes fell upon Naruto.

"Naruto my boy, you haven't been here in ages! And here I'd been thinking I'd lost you to another ramen stand," the elder man said, his tone a mocking serious.

"No way old man!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes alight with horror, "Your ramen's the best in the world, no one could ever replace it!"

"You need to come back more often. You're one of the main reasons we're able to stay in business. Plus it's good to see you. We can always count on you for a good laugh." I flashed an amused look at no one in particular at their friendly antics, draining the empty broth from my bowl.

"I'm sure we've heard enough about Naruto-kun's day for now," Teuchi chuckled. "How about you Tsubaki-chan? Did your first day go well?"

"It was a very good start," I told them. I then launched into a brief description of my day, going nowhere near as into detail as Naruto had. Even so, they listened as I recounted what had happened, asking questions every once in a while. It was kinda nice, being able to have people who would listen and pay attention to you, especially when you were just six years old.

Naruto finished his third bowl, then we both left. Naruto hugged the two ramen chefs bye, while I waved as we walked out the door. His apartment was on the way to my house, so we walked home together, Naruto talking animatedly all the way.

He gave me a hesitant hug when we got to my house, and I returned it. He left with a quick and cheerful, "see you tomorrow", and I headed inside.

I went through the usual night time routine, getting supper, talking to my family, and getting a bath, before crawling into my bed. I had barely closed my eyes before sleep enveloped me, dragging me into its realm of dreams.


	5. Chapter 5

School soon fell into my daily routine, and along with it, Naruto's company. We would hang out everyday during lunch and recess, sometimes training, sometimes goofing around and playing, and sometimes just talking.

Naruto could go on and on about his dream to be the Hokage, and I was beginning to become convinced in him myself. He said everything in a way that just made you want to believe in him, and I could almost see the stars shining in his eyes.

One day he'd asked me what I wanted to be, and I'd found myself unable to answer. I obviously wanted to be a shinobi, but how far did I want to go? Naruto had answered that question for me, saying I would be his second in command, and I just shrugged and agreed. It was a lofty goal that I knew I probably wouldn't achieve, but it was still something to aim for.

After school I would either go to one of the training grounds by my house or go to Ichiraku's with Naruto. Ayame and Teuchi were quickly becoming my two biggest supporters, and I loved to see them. They would always give me and Naruto help on the homework we couldn't understand.

Well, more like the homework Naruto couldn't understand, which still wasn't very much, since he'd been there the year before. It wasn't like I was way smarter than all the other kids in class, it was just that I was raised with the standard that I should know how to read and do simple math problems before I started school. My mom had homeschooled me while all the other children went to preschool, so I found myself at a small advantage in the paperwork area.

All the other areas I found myself to be completely lacking in. My endurance was good, but my taijutsu form and technique was awful. My chakra control was complete trash, so that also threw ninjutsu and genjutsu out the window. I didn't understand why I was struggling so much to control my chakra, when it had come so easily in the Yamanaka's backyard. Everytime I tried after that I hadn't been able to find my chakra at all, and when I had it had been a forced thing. The chakra had become volatile and unpredictable, wanting to try and lash out of me. It had me kinda scared if I were being honest. I'd asked Sensei about it one day, and he'd frowned and told me that I must have been doing something very wrong. It'd left me with more than just a bad impression about things.

My skill with shuriken and kunai was increasing rapidly though, and for that I was grateful. Inoichi had sent someone to pick me up after the second day of school. The woman had taken me over to a bunch of different stores to help me get the right scrolls and supplies I would need for class.

One of them involved a small weapon pouch with a mediocre amount of kunai and shuriken in it. I'd practiced with them nearly everyday. When my chakra meditation or taijutsu training got too boring or exhausting, I went over to a target and picked up a kunai. My hands had already acquired a noticeable amount of calluses, and the skin on my palms was beginning to toughen due to the rubbing of the metal.

My parents had asked me every once in a while if things were going alright, and I could see in their eyes they wanted things to go bad. Not because they didn't care, but because they cared too much. They wanted me to drop out, to quit, and be safe again. That was why I went to see Teuchi and Ayame with Naruto every chance I had, because they would support me, no matter what.

Then, one day, Naruto asked if I wanted to have a sleep over at his house for his birthday. I hurried home that night, eager to ask my mom if I could. I rushed up to her as soon as I got through the door.

"Mom! My friend Naruto invited me over to stay the night at his house. Can I go, please? It's for his birthday."

Mom had stilled, and her face went down a shade in color.

"Did you say Naruto?" She asked me shakily.

"Ye-es." I replied with uncertainty. She seemed scared for some reason, and I wasn't sure why.

"When's his birthday?"

"October tenth. He said that I could come over the ninth and stay the night. We were going to go out and get ramen."

"Is this the same boy you've been going out to get ramen with in the evenings?"

"Yes?" I thought I'd told her. Didn't she ask me earlier?

"Stop. I don't want you to hang out with that boy anymore."

"But why?" I gasped. What had Naruto done that had managed to gain my mom's disapproval? She seemed almost afraid of him. But he was the same age as I was, and a happy bubbly little kid at that, how could he be bad?

"Tsubaki, he's evil. He's done so many bad things, the entire village shuns him. He's dangerous, and I don't want you around him anymore, he could hurt you."

I agreed not to see him anymore, then went up to my room. I didn't eat supper that night, instead getting a shower and going straight to bed.

The only thing was, I couldn't sleep. I'd been sleeping earlier than I usually did, and more soundly, since I started the physical training at the academy, but the day had left me completely unnerved. I wasn't sure why mom wouldn't let me go, but her fear of Naruto sent a new wave of the emotion through me every time I thought of the conversation.

I tossed and turned for a couple hours, trying and failing to fall asleep, before I finally sat up in defeat. I turned on the lampshade beside my bed, went over to one of the many cabinets scattered about my room, and pulled out a notebook and pencil.

On the front, I labeled it BIO. Turning to the first page, I wrote Naruto at the top and began to write down what I knew. It was time for some fact finding.

—

"Hey Naruto," I greeted, my voice downcast. He immediately caught onto my dismal state.

"Ne, what's wrong Tsubaki?" We had long ago lost the honorifics, calling each other just by our first names.

"My parents won't let me come over, and they won't tell me why."

"Awww, no! But we were gonna have ramen with old man Teuchi and everything! I guess I kinda get it though."

I looked up at him in surprise. He knew why all the adults didn't like him? Maybe he would tell me why.

"None of the grown ups like me, and even Jiji won't tell me why. It's been like that forever!" He whined, his shoulders slumping forward dramatically as he walked.

"I could try and sneak over to your house on a different day. We could still celebrate your birthday, it would just be at a different time. I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind me going to spend the night with Ino, since we're best friends."

Naruto's face was a mass of confusion, before a veil of understanding came into his eyes.

"Hey, that's a great idea! You'd be pulling a prank on them, just like I do all the time with the village."

"Sure, let's go with that."

In truth, I didn't hang out with Ino much. It wasn't that she was hard to be friends with, it was just that she already had someone to be friends with. This little pink haired girl named Sakura had caught her attention, and Ino had really been helping the shy girl grow.

I really wanted to go over to Naruto's house. The best way to find something stuff about someone is to see their home. Of course, I wanted to go because it was his birthday, because he was after all my best friend, but I considered my fact finding mission of greater importance. He was my friend, and people were being mean to him. It was my top priority to find out why, and fix it if I could.

School went on as normal for the rest of the day. Iruka taught, Naruto and I chatted in the back, and Sasuke glared at us. At first, I had tried to ignore the annoying Uchiha, but Naruto wouldn't just sit by as the black haired boy turned the class against us.

All the girls had this thing for Sasuke, and if he considered you bad, the girls would take care of you for him. I guess if he didn't have this hate thing against me and Naruto I could consider him a decent person. He usually minded his own business, and just did his classwork. Truth be told, it was actually Naruto who started most of their confrontations.

We went home that day, planning to have the sleepover a couple days early. I would be coming over to his house on the sixth under the guise that I would be at Ino's. There, we would hang out and have an overall good time. I of course would be searching for clues the entire time though.

At home, my parents readily agreed, happy to let me hang out and have fun with my girl friend, leaving me confused for a minute at their lack of concern, before I realized they were relieved I'd found a different friend. I smiled up at them, glad to have their 'approval' then went outside, making my way down the busy streets of Konoha. I had something I wanted to learn, but was struggling with. I planned on asking Inoichi if he would help me with it. Sponsors typically assisted the ninja trainee anyway, so I hoped he wouldn't consider it too much of a hassle.

I went over to the Yamanaka Flower Shop, opening the door to the cloying smell of flowers that still threatened to overwhelm me, despite my best efforts. Tamaki was behind the counter that day, and she quirked an eyebrow at me when I entered.

"Haven't seen you over here for a little while," she commented, "I figured you would have come over to ask for help with something earlier. Most of the sponsor kids we've had do."

"I thought it would be better if I worked on the basics for a while, make sure I had all our class work down before I tried something else. I know I'm not perfect yet," I amended, "far from it. I just have a better understanding of it than I did when we started, and I thought my schedule could fit another style in it."

"Good to see you actually thinking. You wouldn't believe the number of kids who go around and ask to learn 'cool' jutsu. Anyway," she said, changing the topic, "Inoichi's back at home. You can just head on through the door at the back."

"Thank you very much," I told her, heading behind the counter, squeezing past her in the tight area to get to the pink door at the back of the store.

I was glad that I had memorized the way to Ino's house the first time we were there, because otherwise I would have been totally lost. I took the appropriate amount of turns, hesitating once before opening a certain door, then took a couple more direction changes before making it to the door to Inoichi's home. My knuckles rapped gently against the wood as I knocked.

"Come in," Inoichi's voice called out. I gently turned the knob, making my way into the room.

"Good to see you Tsubaki," Inoichi greeted me. "Ino tells me that you've been doing good in school."

"Mostly just the paperwork," I answered honestly.

"So what is it you're here for today? Some strategy? Or how about a nice fire jutsu?" He asked. I assumed he was joking, but I couldn't be quite sure.

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me with psychology." At this quirked eyebrow, and I worked to elaborate.

"Shinobi need to have the capability to lie, so that they can be efficient in infiltration missions. They also need to be able to know when someone is lying to them, and there are telltale signs for those. There are also other things that could help you, in the middle of a battle or interrogation. Being able to determine a past trauma would help you to distract them at the right moment," and it would be a great benefit when trying to figure out why everyone has a death wish for your friend, I added silently.

"That's a very broad topic you've asked for help in," Inoichi said after a moment's consideration. "I could teach you to be proficient in the skill, but it would take a lot of time, and dedication. At least four years worth of study, and that would only be the tip of the iceberg. I would be willing, but only if you're willing to put the effort in."

"Of course," I answered readily.

"Good. Now, is there something specific you wanted to learn? You must have a reason for wanting to learn this, after all. I'm pretty sure most academy first years don't want to know how to make a grown man pee himself.

"I was hoping you would know how to discern why people are associating certain objects with emotions," I replied, blinking a bit at his odd sense of humor. I was really hoping it was humor, but I really had no way of being sure. The entire Yamanaka family struck me as a touch odd.

"Interesting choice. I can most certainty teach you that, but it's a harder aspect than some of the beginner things, and it's even daunting when you jump into it immediately, instead of starting with the basics and building your way up. However, if that's how you want to do things, I'm not going to tell you no."

"I would like to start there please," I told him, and he nodded, like he had been expecting that answer. Knowing his profession, he likely had.

"Ok then. To understand the concept you want to, you must first understand your own emotions, and how to control them. That's only possible when you have good chakra control, so we're going to be working on that today." I nearly groaned at his words.

—

The sixth came, and I headed straight to Naruto's place after school. The little kid was practically overflowing with excitement as we walked down the road.

"Man, I can't wait! We're gonna stay up all night, and we're gonna train, and play, and eat ramen, and tell super stories. Jiji promised he'd come over too, so it's gonna be awesome! He always tells me the coolest stuff on my birthday. My favorites are ones about the Fourth Hokage. He's so cool!" Nature rambled.

My lips quirked up at his happiness, and I clutched the present I had gotten him tighter. I wasn't sure if it was really something that he would like, but I was hoping. It seemed like something he would appreciate, and it wasn't something stupid and practical, like a set of kunai. His sponsor would take care for that for him, and they were boring anyway. I wanted his present to be something special, so I'd gone out to the store and looked for something he might like.

Naruto and I were so engaged in conversation that I didn't even notice where we were headed until we were well within the outer parts of Konoha. The street we were currently walking down was rather dingy, and there were several people walking around that struck me as a bit shady. I looked over at Naruto, but he didn't seem at all unconfident in the direction that he was heading, so I mentally shrugged it off and kept walking.

The fact was harder to ignore the farther we went, and soon I was feeling ill at ease. We were at the very edges of the village now, the wall nearly encompassing the entire skyline because we were so close. Naruto walked up to what was, by far, the dirtiest apartment complex I had ever seen, turning the knob and easily stepping inside. I followed him, my fingers turning nervously in the hoodie I had donned before leaving the house that morning.

We walked up the stairs, each step creaking as our weight was placed upon it, and I shivered uncomfortably, thinking of how old and rotted the rest of the wood in the building must be. Natural opened yet another door, this one painted a bright orange, and we both stepped inside the room.

This place was much better than the outside. The carpet was a bit dirty, and the table had a giant coffee stain spread out across its surface, but it didn't have the dirty feel the rest of the area had. It just looked lived in, and I allowed myself to unwind slightly in what was undoubtedly Naruto's home.

Natural was looking over at me with a timid expression on his face, and I realized he must have been nervous about having a guest over in his home.

"Very classy," I told him, "I imagine you spent a good deal of time cleaning before I came over."

"You bet I did! This place was a mess. I don't ever want it to be that dirty again, it's way too much work to clean it all up."

I laughed at him, then went further inside, wanting to see the rest of the place my friend called home. His apartment had three rooms, a bathroom, a dining room/kitchen, and a bedroom. He immediately dragged me to his bedroom, telling me about game after game we could play as he tugged on my arm.

We stayed there for an hour or two, playing cards, which Naruto always won, or just hanging out. It was still pretty early, and Naruto didn't want to eat ramen till it was late, because he claimed it would make us hungry, which would keep us from falling asleep. We were both laughing at a joke Naruto had made when there came a knock on the door.

"I got it!" Naruto yelled, jumping off his bed and running to the door.

"Happy birthday Naruto," I heard an old gravelly voice say. It was a kind voice, and I took an immediate liking to it.

Of course Naruto's grandpa would have to be nice, how else could he stay so positive and happy?

"Thanks Jiji! Come on, I want you to meet my friend Tsubaki. She's super awesome!" I blushed as I heard the complement.

"Alright then, my boy. Lead the way. But remember, we need to hurry if we want to make it Ichiraku's in time."

I pushed myself up into a sitting position, trying to look presentable, as I heard their footsteps quickly make their way back to the room.

"Hey Tsubaki, this is my Jiji!" Nature announces once he'd made his way back to the room. Only Inoichi's help with controlling my emotions kept me from all out gasping as Naruto moved to introduce me to the Hokage.

"P-pleasure to meet you sir," I stammered, bewildered. My fingers started to twist the edges of my shirt, and the old man smiled at me with a sort of resigned humor.

"Likewise," he replied, still in that odd way that made me feel like he'd been expecting this type of reaction.

"C'mon, Jiji! We gotta go, else we'll be late to go see old man Teuchi," Naruto scolded. And wasn't I surprised by that.

"Alright, alright," the Third said, his tone easygoing and happy, "we'll head out now." Naruto bounced up and down in excitement, running out the door before the Hokage had even turned around. The Third shook his head slightly, before going to follow the hyperactive blonde down the stairs. I just clutched at the present I had gotten Naruto as if it were a lifeline, and meekly walked after the odd duo.

—

"Lord Hokage, pleasure to see you again!" Touching said jovially, already turning around to tell Ayame to get some ramen ready.

"Has business been good to you lately, Teuchi?" The Third asked him politely.

Nodding, the ramen chef replied, "definitely. Now I've got two Naruto's to keep up with!" He said jokingly, looking over to where my friend and I were already drinking the broth left in our bowls. "I may have to hire someone else to work here too, just to keep up with these kids!"

Another bowl was set in front of me, and I tuned out their conversation, given the heavenly noodles my full attention. Naruto was already halfway through his bowl, and I struggled to make my way back up to where he was. He'd challenged me to a food eating contest the minute we'd walked in, and there was no way I was going to let him win again.

Ayame giggled at the two of us as what I thought was my fourth bowl was put in front of me. I quickly devoured it, seeing Naruto do the same with his, and was about to finish the broth when I heard someone new enter into Teuchi's and the Hokage's conversation.

"Lord Hogake?" I heard Iruka-sensei ask, "What are you doing here?" The Third waved his hand in our direction, and Naruto and I paused mid bite as Iruka turned to see us. His face turned to one of absolute shock, and my own quickly turned a dark shade of red. I realized how animalistic my eating must look, in front of my teacher and the Hokage no less! I set my chopsticks back in the bowl, reaching for a napkin at the same time.

"Hello Sensei," I greeted him weakly, having just cleaned off my face.

"Hello Tsubaki-chan," he replied. "I thought you were going to stay the night at Ino's house today? At least, that's what I heard from Naruto-san." I felt like face-palming as I realized Naruto had announced my plot to the entire school. I don't know why I didn't see it happening.

"Naruto probably just heard something like that through the grapevine," I told him. He nodded, appeased with the answer, and I nearly sagged in relief. I did not want him telling my parents about this.

"He's always been pretty good at pulling pranks, though he stinks at not getting caught," Iruka admitted, and I nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'd probably be better if I could get my stupid chakra to work!" the boy in question announced angrily. I smirked over at him, and he crossed his arms at me.

"I can at least get my chakra to show up," he said sulkily, "that's more than you can do." Everyone immediately quieted, and Ayame smacked Naruto on the back of the head. He glared at her before he frowned, panic overtaking him.

"I'm so sorry Tsubaki! I didn't mean it! Please don't hate me! You win the eating contest!"

"It's fine Naruto. I'm way better than you at everything, so it doesn't really matter. It's just taking me a little longer than everyone else." Three weeks longer, I thought spitefully.

"What do you mean you're better than me at everything!?" Naruto rebelled, quickly going back to his earlier mood.

"Calm down Naruto," the Hokage told him. The boy pouted, but didn't continue. "I've been told it's been taking you more than just a little while to access your chakra, Tsubaki-chan." He said. My heart sped up as I realized the man that was in charge of the entire village was talking to me like I was his granddaughter or something. My mind was still having trouble coming to terms that the Hokage was even present right now.

"It won't take me much longer," I told him hurriedly, a bit of desperation tinting my voice. I didn't want to be taken out of the academy, and not being able to access your chakra was a big thing. There was this kid in the grade above me who's chakra coils were warped, so he couldn't make any jutsu, but he made up for it in other areas. The only things I had going for me were paperwork and thrown weapons. Even my taijutsu was abysmal.

"I've also had some other reports from your teachers," the Third continued. His voice wasn't unkind, but the things he said still sent a spike of fear through me. "They tell me that your chakra is very… volatile, I guess would be the right word."

"I promise that it's just me doing something wrong!" I told him, "I can fix it, it'll just take me a couple more days! I promise I'll do better, you don't have to kick me out of the academy!" My hand flew over my mouth the moment I said that, and I felt a sinking sense of dread settle in the pit of my belly. The Third's eyes grew wide, and I waited for the impending doom.

His laughter was not something I was expecting in the slightest. "Tsubaki, I'm not going to remove you from the academy. Inoichi's told me you have a great deal of potential, and I'm not going to let that go to waste. I just want to know what the problem may be, so that we can fix it."

"Ya, Jiji wouldn't ever get rid of my friend!" Naruto yelled happily, "not when she's gonna be my second in command!"

"Do you think you could try to access your chakra for us?" Iruka asked me, smirking a little as Naruto went back to stuffing his face. I nodded at him, before getting onto the ground and settling into a comfortable position. With all the crazy emotions swirling around inside me, it was impossible to calm down. Fortunately, I'd found it was easier to get a glimpse of my chakra when I was stressed. I saw it the minute I closed my eyes, and let it engulf me, feeling all the fear, stress, and anger inside me double as it did so.

It took only a couple seconds for the energy to start spiking out at the things around me, and I cut it off as quick as I could. I opened my eyes to see the Hokage frowning down at me.

"This is a bit worrying," he said.

"What is?" Naruto asked, receiving a quieting glance from Iruka.

"Do you know about the Kyuubi attack?" The Third asked suddenly, catching me off guard.

"Yes sir, it will have happened seven years ago in four days. The Nine Tailed Fox appeared inside our village, attacking everyone and everything in sight, weaving a giant path of destruction. It was only thanks to the sacrifice of the Yondaime that the beast was killed and we were able to survive." I recounted, summarizing what all of us were told.

"Very good, then you know the Fox was a monster of pure hatred. It's evil chakra swept over the entire village that night, sometimes leaving pockets of it in secluded areas. It's malicious nature left everything it touched volatile and dangerous even after its defeat. There is a chance that the beast could have somehow influenced chakra with some of its own."

My eyes widened, and I thought they would pop right out of my head. "I have some of the Kyuubi's chakra inside of me?" I whispered in horror. The evil demon that had killed so many people in the span of a mere hour, and I had a bit of it inside of me? I wasn't sure what my parents would think about that, but it definitely would not be good. They may even disown me.

"It's a possibility that I don't think we can overlook." The Hokage told me solemnly. I was semi aware of his concerned gaze. "It would explain why you have so much chakra at a young age, and why it's so hard to control. You couldn't have too much of it's chakra though, since anymore than an unnoticeable sliver would have had some far worse side effects." He didn't mention death, but I knew he was thinking about it.

"Do you think any of the Hyuga would be able to help?" Iruka asked the Third. He also looked concerned, but there was something else underlying it. There were small traces of fear in his eyes, and it hit me like a chunin's kick to the chest, and I felt all the air rush out of my body in a single breath.

Sensei was afraid. Not for me, but of me. I possibly held an infinitesimal portion of the Kyuubi's strength, so small compared to its normal reserves that it didn't even exist. But that was still a size that was quite noticeable to us humans. Us humans who had just six years ago nearly been decimated by the demon, and were still trying to recover from the losses. It only made sense for Sensei to be scared of me.

But that didn't help my panic, it only made it worse. What if the rest of the village was scared of me? I looked over at the Hokage, hoping he would be able to fix it. The man had lived through battle after battle in his life, and had earned the title the God of Shinobi. If anyone knew how to fix this, it was him.

"We should probably take her to the Hyuga soon," he told Iruka, before turning back to me. "Tsubaki, I need you to promise me that you won't mess with your chakra until we've figured this out, alright?"

"I promise, Hokage-sama," I said in a tiny voice. Immediately the atmosphere within the ramen stand lifted, leaving only small traces of the conversation before. I turned back to look at a half-finished bowl of miso ramen in front of me, feeling sick at the thought of having to eat it. I swished the broth around with my chopsticks as Naruto talked, seeming to have not paid any attention to the serious talk that we'd just had.

"Come on, Jiji! What'd you get me for my birthday this year?" He asked excitedly. The Third smiled down at him before slowly pulling a scroll out of his cloak. Naruto nearly fell out of his seat in an attempt to see what it was. The Hokage unrolled it ceremoniously, causing a serious mood to permeate the air. After my earlier scare, I wasn't all that appreciative, but I knew my friend was enjoying it.

The Third placed his thumb down in the middle of the scroll, and a light poof of smoke flew out. A medium sized box was left on top the scroll after the cloud dissipated. He smiled at Naruto before slowly handing the boy the container. Naruto looked elated, and was buzzing with so much excitement that I could practically see the air around him moving. Nonetheless, he managed to hold back, and neatly undo the wrapping paper, carefully lifting up the lid of the box.

His eyes lit up in joy, and he reached his hand in to pull out some goggles. He grinned from ear to ear, before running up to hug the Hokage. "Thanks Jiji! I love it!" The Third pat him on the back, happiness written all over his face too. He obviously cared about what Naruto thought of him.

Naruto slipped the goggles on, covering his eyes. Then he went about the room, showing them to everyone present. Ayame giggled at his happy antics, while Teuchi filled the air with his booming laugh. I smiled too as I watched him run around, still holding my own present to him.

"You get your usual present from us, Naruto," Teuchi told him, once the boy had finally managed to calm down. "Your meal tonight is free, as well as any three meals throughout the year."

"Thanks old man! I'm gonna eat all the free ramen I can, believe it!"

We all laughed at this, and I caught even Iruka-sensei chuckling a little in the corner. Naruto laughed along, knowing there was nothing mocking in our laughter.

"Thanks for all the presents, their great!" Naruto told them all, and they all murmured their acknowledgment.

"Naruto, aren't you forgetting someone?" Ayame asked him cheekily, causing him to frown in confusion. I coughed to gain his attention, much like the day we had met. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he realized he'd skipped over me.

"Sorry Tsubaki, I'm just not used to having anyone other than these people at my parties." I smirked at him, hiding my sympathy at the meager amount of guests. Sure, they were all great people, but someone as kind and caring as Naruto deserved to have more than three people that celebrated his birthday. Iruka was here, but I knew that was on accident, he'd been genuinely surprised to see the partygoers here. This just strengthened my resolve to figure out why everyone was so awful to Naruto.

I held out my gift for him with just a bit too much haste. Mine felt so small compared to the gifts the others had given him, and I was worried he wouldn't like it. He took it and gave me one of his blinding smiles, with I returned with a lot less enthusiasm. I bit my bottom lip in anxiety as I watched him open the gift in what felt like a painstakingly slow manner.

He gave a small gasp as he opened the box, and I waited with bated breath for his reaction to my present. The book "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi" was one of my favorite growing up. I had thought Naruto might like it, since the main character's name was also Naruto. He never gave up, and was one of the kindest people I had ever heard about. The book Naruto wanted to end the vicious cycle that was war, and strove to become strong to accomplish it. I felt if anyone could recreate the book in real life, it would be Naruto.

Naruto started at it for a little while, and I was beginning to think he didn't like it when he walked up and hug me, unshed tears sparkling in his eyes. "Thanks Tsubaki," He said, hugging me even tighter. I smiled, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes as well, returning the hug. We both had a single line streaking down our face when we broke apart.

"Well," Iruka said, breaking apart the moment, "it's getting late, and you two have school tomorrow. You need to go home and get some rest. And Naruto," he added in a tired voice, "please actually show up on time for once." Naruto spluttered, indignant, but the Hokage cut him off.

"He's right Naruto. You can't become Hokage unless you learn how. If you don't do that, then I won't be able to dump all my paperwork on you."

"What was that, Jiji?"

"Nothing," he said cheerfully, "Now come on. I'll take you two back home, and then you can get to bed."

—

"Bye Jiji!" Naruto said, giving the Hokage a hug.

"Goodbye my boy. I'll try and visit more often, but you know how this job is."

Naruto's nose crinkled, "Yep, you got a lot of work to do. It's okay though, because being the Hokage makes up for it!"

The Third sighed tiredly, and left in a swirl of leaves. Naruto yelled angrily at the mess, but I could tell it was a half-hearted effort. I shook my head at him, amused, and he scowled at me. His scowl quickly morphed into a mischievous grin, one that I had dubbed a long time ago as his "prankster grin".

"You ready to become part of the tradition?" He asked me ominously.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, not really willing to agree to do anything with him until I knew what it was. Especially with that look on his face.

"Every year on my birthday, I pull a prank on someone. A very big prank. And this year you're gonna help me! Please?" He added as an afterthought.

"Only if I get to choose who it is." I told him, and he readily agreed. I smiled, I knew just who to get. Those stuck up arrogant jerks wouldn't know what hit them after Naruto and I got through with them.


End file.
